Postnatal sex reversal of the ovaries in mice lacking estrogen receptors alpha and beta

Mice lacking estrogen receptors alpha and beta were generated to clarify th e roles of each receptor in the physiology of estrogen target tissues. Both sexes of alpha beta estrogen receptor knockout (alpha beta ERKO) mutants e xhibit normal reproductive tract development but are infertile. Ovaries of adult alpha beta ERKO females exhibit follicle transdifferentiation to stru ctures resembling seminiferous tubules of the testis, including Sertoli-lik e cells and expression of Mullerian inhibiting substance, sulfated glycopro tein-2, and Sox9, Therefore, Loss of both receptors Leads to an ovarian phe notype that is distinct from that of the individual ERKO mutants, which ind icates that both receptors are required for the maintenance of germ and som atic cells in the postnatal ovary.