RESUMO
The temporal expression of estrogen receptor (ER)-alpha and ER-beta mRNA was examined in male Japanese quails. Femurs of quails receiving 17beta-estradiol underwent RTPCR and histochemical analysis 1 to 15 days after treatment. Untreated quails were used as controls (day 0). Between days 0 and 5, cells lining the bone endosteal surface differentiated into osteoblasts, which in turn formed medullary bone. Expression of ER-alpha was already observed on day 0 and increased slightly during bone formation whereas ER-beta was hardly detected throughout this process. After osteoclasts appeared on the medullary bone surface, this type of bone disappeared from the bone marrow cavity (days 7~15). ER-alpha expression simultaneously decreased slightly and ER-beta levels remained very low. These results suggest that estrogen activity mediated by ER-alpha not only affects medullary bone formation but also bone resorption.