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Identification of a new class of steroid hormone receptors

Nature volume 331, pages 91–94 (1988)Cite this article

Abstract

The gonads and adrenal glands produce steroids classified into five major groups which include the oestrogens, progestins, androgens, glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids. Gonadal steroids control the differentiation and growth of the reproductive system, induce and maintain sexual characteristics and modulate reproductive behaviour. Adrenal steroids also influence differentiation as well as being metabolic regulators. The effects of each steroid depend primarily on its specific receptors, the nature of which could therefore provide a basis for classification of steroid hormone action. The successful cloning, sequencing and expression of the human glucocorticoid (hGR) (ref. 1), oestrogen2,3 (hER), progesterone4 (hPR), and mineralocorticoid5 (hMR) receptors, complementary DNA, plus homologues from various species6–11, provides the first opportunity to study receptor structure and its influence on gene expression. Sequence comparison and mutational analysis12,13 show structural features common to all groups of steroid hormone receptors. The receptors share a highly conserved cysteine-rich region which functions as the DNA-binding domain14,15. This common segment allows the genome to be scanned for related gene products: hMR cDNA for example, was isolated using an hGR hybridization probe5. In this study, using the DNA-binding domain of the human oestrogen receptor cDNA as a hybridization probe, we have isolated two cDNA clones encoding polypeptides with structural features suggestive of cryptic steroid hormone receptors which could participate in a new hormone response system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Gene Expression Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, PO Box 85800, San Diego, California, 92138, USA

    Vincent Giguère, Na Yang, Prudimar Segui & Ronald M. Evans

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of California, San Diego, California, USA

    Na Yang

Authors
  1. Vincent Giguère
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  2. Na Yang
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  3. Prudimar Segui
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  4. Ronald M. Evans
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Giguère, V., Yang, N., Segui, P. et al. Identification of a new class of steroid hormone receptors. Nature 331, 91–94 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/331091a0

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