Beneficial effects of estrogen treatment in the HLA-B27 transgenic rat model of inflammatory bowel disease.

A well-established model of bowel inflammation is the HLA-B27 transgenic rat that exhibits a spontaneous disease phenotype resulting in chronic diarrhea caused by immune cell activation. Estrogens have previously been shown to modulate the immune system, and both estrogen receptors (ERalpha and ERbeta) are present in the intestine and cells of the immune system. Therefore, the ability of estrogen to ameliorate disease progression in the HLA-B27 transgenic rat was determined.