@article{oai:niigata-u.repo.nii.ac.jp:00002617,
 author = {Yamada, Kazuho and Nozawa-Inoue, Kayoko and Kawano, Yoshiro and Kohno, Shoji and Amizuka, Norio and Iwanaga, Toshihiko and Maeda, Takeyasu},
 issue = {2},
 journal = {The Anatomical Record Part A: Discoveries in Molecular, Cellular, and Evolutionary Biology, The Anatomical Record Part A: Discoveries in Molecular, Cellular, and Evolutionary Biology},
 month = {Oct},
 note = {Numerous epidemiological studies have pointed out a higher frequency of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) in women than in men, suggesting the involvement of a sex hormone such as estrogen in the pathogenesis of TMD. Although estrogen is known to play pivotal roles in osteoarthrosis or rheumatoid arthritis in systemic joints, there have been few reports about the role of estrogen in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Its effect is generally mediated by estrogen receptors (ERs), ERα and ERβ, the former which is a predominant type. In this study, we examined the expression of ERα protein and mRNA in the TMJ of adult male rats by immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization histochemistry. Intense ERα-immunoreactivity was localized in the synovial lining cells, stromal cells in the articular disc, and chondrocytes in the TMJ. These ERα-immunopositive synovial lining cells were characteristic of cytoplasmic processes identified with confocal and immuno-electron microscopy, suggesting that they were synovial type B cells. In situ hybridization histochemistry confirmed intense signals for ERα in the synovial lining cells and the sublining fibroblasts at mRNA levels. The nuclei of chondrocytes showed an intense immunoreaction for ERα in the area of the maturative and hypertrophic layer of the articular cartilage. In addition to the nuclear localization of ERα, a weak immunoreaction appeared in the cytoplasm of some ERα-positive cells. These findings supported the hypothesis that the TMJ tissue --at least in the male rat-- has the potential to be an estrogen target tissue.},
 pages = {934--941},
 title = {The Expression of Estrogen Receptor α (Er α) in the rat Temporomandibular Joint},
 volume = {274A},
 year = {2003}
}