Abstract: PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of estradiol on the expressions of estrogen receptor in mandibular condylar cartilage cell (MCC). METHODS: The MCC were harvested from neonatal rats. The experimental groups was cultured in medium with different concentration(10-3,10-6,10-9,l0-12 mmol/L) of estradiol(E2), while the control group was cultured in medium with ethanol. The ERα mRNA and ERβ mRNA in cells were detected with RT-PCR.The data was processed with SPSS10.0 software package. RESLUTS: Both ERα and ERβ expression were observed in MCC. Exogenous 17β-E2 raised the gene expression of ERα and lowered the expression of ERβ. Under the concentration of 10-9 mmol/L(physiological condition) , the up-regulation of ERα mRNA was found most obviously. CONCLUSIONS: E2 can raise the expression of ERα and decrease the expression of ERβ, and the effect of up grading is the most obvious under physiological concentration.

Key words: Estradiol, Estrogen receptor, Mandibular condylar cartilage cell, mRNA