We reported previously that both subtypes of estrogen receptors, ERa and ERb, are expressed by human urothelial cells and mediate estrogen-induced cell proliferation in these cells. The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which each ER subtype contributes to urothelial cell proliferation and their possible involvement in the regulation of the cell cycle. We compared the expression of ERa and ERb mRNAs and protein quantitatively in primarily cultured human bladder urothelial cells obtained from six individuals with three immortalized urothelial (E6, E7, and UROtsa) and two bladder cancer cell lines (HTB-9 and T24). We found that all these cells express similar levels of ERb, but immortalized and cancer cells express much higher amounts of ERa than primary cells. Higher levels of ERa mRNA were also observed in the biopsies of bladder transitional cell carcinoma compared with sample from the same bladder unaffected by tumor. Using the ERaselective agonist PPT, the ERb-selective agonist DPN, and specific small interfering RNA against ERa or ERb, we found that ERb predominantly mediates estrogen-induced G1/S transition and cell proliferation in the primary urothelial cells. By contrast, ERa predominantly mediates estrogeninduced G1/S transition and cell proliferation in bladder cancer cell lines. Furthermore, we found that 17b-estradiol (E 2 ) rapidly induces phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases, but U0126, a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitor, does not affect E 2 -induced urothelial cell proliferation. E 2 up-regulated cyclin D1 and cyclin E expression in both the primary and bladder cancer cells, and the cancer cells have higher cyclin D1 and cyclin E expression during G0/G1 phases. Our data suggest that estrogen exerts its effects through different ER subtypes in urothelial cells. Increased expression of ERa may contribute to early induction of cyclin D1 and cyclin E during the cell cycle in bladder cancer cells.