Estrogen Receptor Antibody (alpha)

Estrogen receptor (ER) is an important regulator of growth and differentiation in the mammary gland. It is found in two forms, alpha and beta. Both forms are widely expressed, however, alpha is the predominant form in endometrium and breast cancer cells, and beta is more highly expressed in brain, kidney, heart, lung and bone. Activated Estrogen receptor dimerizes and forms both homo- and heterodimers. ER contains five domains: A-F. The A and B domain are able to weakly activate ER in the absence of ligand. The C domain binds DNA and the E domain contains the ligand binding site. Presence of ER in breast tumors indicates an increased likelihood of response to anti-estrogen (e.g. tamoxifen) therapy. This antibody is specific to estrogen receptor alpha and shows minimal cross-reaction with other members of the family.