This gene encodes a member of the family of estrogenreceptors and superfamily of nuclear receptor transcriptionfactors. The gene product contains an N-terminal DNA binding domainand C-terminal ligand binding domain and is localized to thenucleus, cytoplasm, and mitochondria. Upon binding to17beta-estradiol or related ligands, the encoded protein formshomo- or hetero-dimers that interact with specific DNA sequences toactivate transcription. Some isoforms dominantly inhibit theactivity of other estrogen receptor family members. Severalalternatively spliced transcript variants of this gene have beendescribed, but the full-length nature of some of these variants hasnot been fully characterized. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].