ESR1 and systemic lupus erythematosus: To explore whether IFNs could regulate the expression of ERα, we treated total splenic cells from non lupus-prone C57BL/6 female mice with either the murine IFN-α (1,000 u/ml) or IFN-γ (10 ng/ml) and compared steady-state levels of ERα mRNA by quantitative real-time PCR.