Detection of Estrogen Receptor by In Situ Hybridization

Neurons in widely disparate regions of the central nervous system (CNS), regions not intimately associated with reproductive behaviors, express the estrogen gene. Recent in situ hybridization (ISH) studies have documented the widespread distribution of estrogen receptor mRNA in the adult rat brain (1 –3 ). Clearly labeled cells were found in regions with widespread connections throughout the brain, suggesting that estrogen receptor may modulate a wide variety of neural functions. Furthermore, we reported the expression of estrogen receptor mRNA in bovine retina (4 ).