Structural variants of sex steroid hormone receptors in the testis: from molecular biology to physiological roles

For citation purposes: Laurentino S, Pinto P, Correia S, Cavaco JE, Canario AVM, Socorro S. Structural variants of sex steroid hormone receptors in the testis: from molecular biology to physiological roles. OA Biotechnology 2012 Dec 17;1(2):4. Licensee OA Publishing London 2012. Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY) Abstract Introduction Sex steroid hormones, androgens and oestrogens regulate diverse physiological processes by interacting with their intracellular protein receptors and modulating the expression of target genes. Classical sex steroid hormone receptors belong to the nuclear receptor superfamily, which forms the largest known family of transcription factors in eukaryotes. A common feature of sex steroid hormone receptors genes is the incidence of alternative splicing, a process that generates multiple variants from a single mRNA precursor molecule. This process facilitates the production of functionally distinct proteins and contributes to proteome diversity in higher eukaryotes. Herein we will critically review current information about the diversity of oestrogen receptors and androgen receptors variants, discussing their structural features and physiological functions. Conclusion The identification of structural variants of both ERs and ARs in healthy testis and a broad range of vertebrate species, highlights the newly revealed complexity of SSHRs signalling mechanisms in this tissue. Structural variants of sex steroid hormone receptors in the testis: from molecular biology to physiological roles