G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1(GPER) activation triggers different signaling pathways on neurons and astrocytes

Estradiol (E2) is the most potent and prevalent form of estrogen, a well-known hormone that regulates multiple tissues and functions in humans. In the brain, E2 regulates processes as diverse as learning, memory, cognition, mood, as well as neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration. The actions of E2 are mediated by classical estrogen receptors (ERs;α and β), and by the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER or GPR30)(Prossnitz and Arterburn, 2015). Classical ER are predominantly present in the nucleus and cytoplasm, with less than 2% present on the plasma membrane, and mediate genomic cellular effects that occur in the time frame of hours to days (Prossnitz and Arterburn, 2015).