Estrogen receptors:: new players in diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus type 2 is a systemic disease characterized by imbalance of energy metabolism, which is mainly caused by inadequate insulin action. Recent data have revealed a surprising role for estradiol in regulating energy metabolism and opened new insights into the role of the two estrogen receptors, ER alpha and ER beta, in this context. New findings on gene modulation by ER alpha and ER beta of insulin-sensitive tissues indicate that estradiol participates in glucose homeostasis by modulating the expression of genes that are involved in insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake. Drugs that can selectively modulate the activity of either ER alpha or ER beta in their interactions with target genes represent a promising frontier in diabetes mellitus coadjuvant therapy.