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Control of Progesterone Receptor-A Transrepressive Activity in Myometrial Cells: Implications for the Control of Human Parturition

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Abstract

Uterine quiescence during pregnancy is maintained by progesterone primarily via signaling mediated by the type-B progesterone receptor (PR-B) in myometrial cells. Withdrawal of PR-B-mediated progesterone activity is a principal trigger for labor. One mechanism for PR-B withdrawal is by inhibition of its activity by the type-A PR (PR-A) isoform in myometrial cells. We hypothesized that human parturition involves hormonal interactions that induce the capacity for PR-A to inhibit PR-B in myometrial cells and that pro-inflammatory cytokines are major regulators of this process. We tested this hypothesis in an immortalized human myometrial cell line, hTERT-HM, in which levels of PR-A and PR-B can be experimentally controlled. We found that the capacity for PR-A to repress PR-B, assessed by activity of a transiently transfected reporter DNA controlled by the progesterone response element, and expression of FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP5) an endogenous PR-B responsive gene, was increased by serum supplementation and interleukin-1β (3. In pregnant uterus, FKBP5 was detected exclusively in myometrial cells and its expression decreased with advancing gestation and in association with the onset of labor at term. These findings suggest that in myometrial cells the repressive activity of PR-A on PR-B increases with advancing gestation and is induced by pro-inflammatory cytokines. This may be a key mechanism linking inflammation with the onset of labor.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Bansari Patel MD, Ahmed Yousef MD & Sam Mesiano PhD

  2. Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC, USA

    Bansari Patel MD

  3. Department of Reproductive Biology, Case Western Reserve University, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA

    Gregory A. Peters PhD, Yelenna Skomorovska-Prokvolit PhD, Lijuan Yi BSc, Huiqing Tan MSc, Junye Wang BSc & Sam Mesiano PhD

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt

    Ahmed Yousef MD

Authors
  1. Bansari Patel MD
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  2. Gregory A. Peters PhD
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  3. Yelenna Skomorovska-Prokvolit PhD
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  4. Lijuan Yi BSc
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  5. Huiqing Tan MSc
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  6. Ahmed Yousef MD
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  7. Junye Wang BSc
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  8. Sam Mesiano PhD
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Correspondence to Sam Mesiano PhD.

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Patel, B., Peters, G.A., Skomorovska-Prokvolit, Y. et al. Control of Progesterone Receptor-A Transrepressive Activity in Myometrial Cells: Implications for the Control of Human Parturition. Reprod. Sci. 25, 214–221 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719117716775

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719117716775

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