Expression of estrogen receptor ß-isoforms in breast cancer cell lines with different potentials for mobility and invasiveness

Estrogen receptor (ER) β is involved in physiological and pathological processes in the mammary gland. Different ERβ-isoforms are described in the literature, without providing their exact function. In order to determine the biological function of distinct ERß-isoforms for breast cancer patients it is important to get detailed information about their expressional regulation. For this purpose we have established four classic multiplex- and six real-time RT-PCRs to quantify wild-type ERβ (ERßwt), ERβcx-, ERβδ5-, ERβ5-splice variants. Expression of ERβ-splice variants was examined in seven standard-cultured breast…