{
  "abstract": "Fulvestrant is a selective estrogen receptor downregulator (SERD) that antagonizes estrogen receptor α (ERα) and also promotes receptor degradation. However, how it affects full-length ERα dynamics at the single-molecule level remains unclear. Here, we used high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) to directly visualize the dynamic behavior of full-length ERα under fulvestrant-bound, ligand-free, and other ligand-bound conditions. Among the four conditions, fulvestrant-bound ERα alone showed a reduced apparent molecular volume and increased surface mobility, behaving distinctly from the ligand-free, E2-bound, and 4-OHT-bound states. These results indicate that fulvestrant not only drives ERα inactivation and degradation but also is associated with changes in the observed molecular morphology and dynamics of full-length ERα. Our study provides direct single-molecule observation of altered molecular behavior under fulvestrant-bound conditions, which we interpret as reflecting changes in the conformational ensemble of full-length ERα.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Division of Nano Life Science in the Graduate School of Frontier Science Initiative, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa920-1192, Japan.",
    "Laboratory of Structure-Function Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka819-0395, Japan.",
    "WPI-Nano Life Science Institute, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-1192, Japan.",
    "Cell-Bionomics Research Unit, Institute for Frontier Science Initiative (INFINITI), Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa920-1192, Japan.",
    "Laboratory of Structure-Function Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka819-0395, Japan."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Reon Imakawa"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Kota Aramaki"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Takeru Kajiyama"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kota Yoshimura"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Towa Onohara"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Keesiang Lim"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Richard W Wong",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2131-6595"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Ayami Matsushima",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9751-577X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/64ybymh504zw3.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1021/acs.jpclett.6c01784",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13592080",
  "id": "64ybymh504zw3",
  "issns": [
    "1948-7185"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42915481",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3107|Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7208770535",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13592080?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13592080",
  "pmid": "42915481",
  "published": "2026-09-01",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/64ybymh504zw3.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:21:02Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42915481",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42915481"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "openalex:3107|Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications",
      "subfield": "amo"
    }
  ],
  "title": "High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals Single-Molecule Dynamics of Fulvestrant-Bound Estrogen Receptor α.",
  "title_text": "High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals Single-Molecule Dynamics of Fulvestrant-Bound Estrogen Receptor α.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:21:02Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/64ybymh504zw3",
  "venue": "The journal of physical chemistry letters",
  "versions": []
}