Estren-mediated inhibition of T lymphopoiesis is estrogen receptor-independent whereas its suppression of T cell-mediated inflammation is estrogen receptor-dependent

Estrogen has extensive effects on the immune system. The aim of the present experiments was to compare the effects of 17β-estradiol (E2) and 4-estren-3α,17β-diol (estren) on T lymphopoiesis and T cell-dependent inflammation. In order to investigate the role of estrogen receptors (ER) in the effects of E2 and estren on the immune system, ER knock-out mice lacking both ERα and ERβ (DERKO) were used. T lymphopoiesis and T cell-dependent inflammation were studied by investigating thymus cellularity, the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction, CD4⁺ T cells in spleen and serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6. As expected, the presence of ERs was mandatory for all the effects of E2. In contrast, treatment with estren reduced thymus cellularity in ER knock-out mice, indicating an effect through ER-independent pathways. Interestingly, estren suppressed only DTH, the frequency of CD4⁺ T cells in spleen and serum levels of IL-6 in wild-type (WT) mice, but not in mice lacking ERs. Thus, our study is the first to show that estren inhibits T lymphopoiesis via ER-independent pathways, whereas its suppressive effects on inflammation are ER-dependent.