Gene Transcription Regulation by ER at the Single Cell and Allele Level

Authors

Fabio Stossi
Alejandra Rivera Tostado
Hannah L Johnson
Ragini M Mistry
Maureen G Mancini
Michael A Mancini

Publication Date

12-1-2023

Journal

Steroids

DOI

10.1016/j.steroids.2023.109313

PMID

37758052

PMCID

PMC10842394

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

12-1-2024

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Author MSS

Published Open-Access

yes

Keywords

Receptors, Estrogen, Alleles, Gene Expression Regulation, Transcription Factors, Transcription, Genetic, Estrogen Receptor alpha

Abstract

In this short review we discuss the current view of how the estrogen receptor (ER), a pivotal member of the nuclear receptor superfamily of transcription factors, regulates gene transcription at the single cell and allele level, focusing on in vitro cell line models. We discuss central topics and new trends in molecular biology including phenotypic heterogeneity, single cell sequencing, nuclear phase separated condensates, single cell imaging, and image analysis methods, with particular focus on the methodologies and results that have been reported in the last few years using microscopy-based techniques. These observations augment the results from biochemical assays that lead to a much more complex and dynamic view of how ER, and arguably most transcription factors, act to regulate gene transcription.