scholarly journals Non-genomic progesterone receptors in the mammalian ovary: some unresolved issues

Reproduction ◽  
2003 ◽  
pp. 3-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Bramley

In addition to their well-documented genomic effects, steroid hormones may also exert actions that are: (i) rapid, (ii) insensitive to inhibitors of transcription, (iii) mimicked by steroids coupled to cell membrane-impermeant molecules, and (iv) demonstrable in cells that do not express the classic genomic progesterone receptor (gPR). Such 'non-genomic' effects have been described for all the major classes of steroids (progesterone, oestrogens, androgens and corticoids), as well as for thyroid hormones, retinoids and vitamin D(3). Rapid, membrane-mediated effects of progesterone have been studied most intensively in human spermatozoa and in the Xenopus oocyte. However, similar non-genomic actions of progesterone and other steroids have now been described in a wide variety of different tissues in many species. The first putative membrane steroid receptor to be cloned was that for the pig membrane progesterone receptor (mPR). Subsequently, similar genes were cloned from rats and cattle, and two related mPRs have been described in humans. Despite accumulating evidence for cell-surface membrane actions of steroids, a number of uncertainties remain as to the properties and identity of such 'receptors' and their cellular actions. Furthermore, some rapid steroid effects may be mediated through membrane-associated 'classical' steroid receptors, and steroid receptors may be capable of activating other signalling pathways non-classically. This review focuses on some of these unresolved issues, taking as its model the actions of progesterone in the mammalian ovary.

2014 ◽  
Vol 224 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Lu ◽  
Joshua Reese ◽  
Ying Zhou ◽  
Emmet Hirsch

Parturition is an inflammatory process mediated to a significant extent by macrophages. Progesterone (P4) maintains uterine quiescence in pregnancy, and a proposed functional withdrawal of P4 classically regulated by nuclear progesterone receptors (nPRs) leads to labor. P4 can affect the functions of macrophages despite the reported lack of expression of nPRs in these immune cells. Therefore, in this study we investigated the effects of the activation of the putative membrane-associated PR on the function of macrophages (a key cell for parturition) and discuss the implications of these findings for pregnancy and parturition. In murine macrophage cells (RAW 264.7), activation of mPRs by P4 modified to be active only extracellularly by conjugation to BSA (P4BSA, 1.0×10−7 mol/l) caused a pro-inflammatory shift in the mRNA expression profile, with significant upregulation of the expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2 (Ptgs2)), Il1B, and Tnf and downregulation of membrane progesterone receptor alpha (Paqr7) and oxytocin receptor (Oxtr). Pretreatment with PD98059, a MEK1/2 inhibitor, significantly reduced P4BSA-induced expression of mRNA of Il1B, Tnf, and Ptgs2. Inhibition of protein kinase A (PKA) by H89 blocked P4BSA-induced expression of Il1B and Tnf mRNA. P4BSA induced rapid phosphorylation of MEK1/2 and CREB (a downstream target of PKA). This phosphorylation was inhibited by pretreatment with PD98059 and H89, respectively, revealing that MEK1/2 and PKA are two of the components involved in mPR signaling. Taken together, these results indicate that changes in membrane progesterone receptor alpha expression and signaling in macrophages are associated with the inflammatory responses; and that these changes might contribute to the functional withdrawal of P4 related to labor.


1989 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 223 ◽  
Author(s):  
X Zhang ◽  
GM Stone ◽  
BG Miller

Various aspects of the binding of the synthetic progesteongens, cronolone (9 alpha-fluoro-11 beta-hydroxy-17 alpha-acetoxypregn-4-ene-3,20-dione) and medroxyprogesterone acetate (6 alpha-methyl-17 alpha-acetoxypregn-4-ene-3,20-dione, MAP) to uterine cytosol progesterone receptors of the sheep, rabbit and mouse were studied, in an attempt to explain interesting species differences in the biological activity of these steroids. For the sheep, data for binding-site concentration, relative binding affinity (RBA), dissociation constant (Kd) and rates of association and dissociation indicate specific binding of cronolone to the progesterone receptor and these would seem to explain in part the high progestational activity of cronolone in this species. By contrast, with the mouse, there was only a low level of specific binding of cronolone and this appears to explain its inability to maintain pregnancy in this species. Results for the binding activity of cronolone in rabbit uterus were similar to those for the sheep and thus inability of cronolone to maintain pregnancy in the rabbit is not explained by a failure to bind the progesterone receptor. Species differences in binding to the progesterone receptor were also seen with MAP where the RBA, with respect to progesterone, was high in the sheep and rabbit and lower in the mouse. The results, however, do not relate directly to the progestational activity of MAP in these species. Overall, the data indicate that species differences in the binding activity of steroid receptors constitute one factor that causes species-dependent variation in biological responses to progestogens.


1995 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 275-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Kerner ◽  
E. Sabo ◽  
M. Friedman ◽  
D. Beck ◽  
O. Samare ◽  
...  

The immunoperoxidase stain for estrogen and progesterone receptor content in endometrial adenocarcinoma was correlated with the grade and stage, level of myometrial invasion, age and survival of the patients. Anti-estrogen and anti-progesteone receptor monoclonal antibodies were applied to paraffin-embedded tissue from hysterectomy specimens of 100 patients with adenocarcinoma of the endometrium. In 34 of the cases the receptors were studied in the endometrium adjacent to the tumor and compared to the nuclear receptor content in the carcinoma. There was a high inverse correlation between the estrogen receptor status and the grade of tumor (R= − 0.45,P= 0.006). The estrogen receptor measured in the endometrium near the tumor showed a negative correlation with the grade of the tumor (R= −0.42,P= 0.013). The estrogen, but not the progesterone, receptor content, was positively related to the age of the patient (P< 0.05). No significant correlation of the receptor status with the depth of myometrial invasion was found, despite the obvious interdependence between the grade and myometrial invasion. The progesterone receptor staining index appeared to be a distinct independent prognostic factor in endometrial cancer. The immunohistochemical analysis of the steroid hormone status in endometrial cancer therefore offers an alternative to the quantitative ligand-binding assay.


1996 ◽  
Vol 109 (8) ◽  
pp. 2151-2160 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Kokorine ◽  
E. Marbaix ◽  
P. Henriet ◽  
Y. Okada ◽  
J. Donnez ◽  
...  

Recent studies suggest that interstitial collagenase (MMP-1) is an essential enzyme in the early events leading to menstruation. This study analyses its cellular origin, regulation and relation to extracellular matrix breakdown in the human endometrium, both in cultured and non-cultured samples. The source of MMP-1 was identified by in situ hybridization and by immunohistochemistry on serial sections. This was compared with the immunolocalization of other MMPs, steroid receptors, macrophages, and laminin. In non-cultured endometrium, MMP-1 was only expressed during the perimenstrual period. It was either restricted to superficial foci of stromal cells or extended towards the entire functional layer. MMP-1 expression remarkably correlated with matrix breakdown, as assessed by silver staining, and was prominent at the periphery of shedding fragments and along some arterioles. In cultured non-menstrual explants, MMP-1 expression was induced within two days after deprivation of sex steroids. Both in cultured and non-cultured samples, progesterone receptors were not detectable in epithelial cells at foci of MMP-1 expression. The same stromal cells could synthesize MMP-1, MMP-2 (gelatinase A) and MMP-3 (stromelysin-1), as well as laminin, and did not correspond to macrophages. In conclusion, MMP-1 is focally expressed in stromal cells of the functional layer of the endometrium, when and where steroid receptors disappear, and especially where tissue breakdown is prominent. These observations point to an essential role for MMP-1 in the early stages of menstruation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-69
Author(s):  
Mohammad Tahir ◽  
Tehreem Atif ◽  
Summaya Sohail ◽  
Arfa Nawazish ◽  
Huma Mushtaq

Background: Meningiomas are slow growing intracranial and intraspinal neoplasms with a tendency to recur locally. WHO grades them as I (benign), II (atypical) and III (anaplastic) in order of their increasing aggressiveness, based on histological parameters and brain parenchymal invasion. Progesterone receptors (PR) are more prevalent amongst the lower grade meningiomas. The objective of this study was to determine the immunohistochemical expression of progesterone receptors in meningiomas of different grades.Material and Methods: A total of 100 cases were selected over a period of 2.5 years. Three to five microns’ thick sections stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin were examined microscopically by a team of two Histopathologists and graded into grades I, II and III, according to 2016 WHO classification criteria. Another section of the original tumor was stained with progesterone receptor antibody using the conventional immunoperoxidase method. Stained slides were than examined by the same team of Histopathologists and declared positive (if nuclear staining was observed in more than 10% of tumor cells) or negative. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 21.Results: Out of a total of 100 cases of meningioma, there were 79 cases of benign/typical WHO grade I, 15 cases of atypical/ WHO grade II and 6 cases of anaplastic/ WHO grade III tumor. PR status was positive in 89.8 % (71/79) of grade I meningiomas and 46.6 % (7/15) of grade II/Atypical meningiomas. The 06 cases of Anaplastic/WHO grade III tumors were negative for PR. There was a higher prevalence of Progesterone receptors in female patients (89.8%; 53/59) as compared to male meningioma patients (60.9%; 25/41).Conclusion: We observed a decreased expression of progesterone receptor in higher grades of meningioma in this study. It is an effort to explore conservative treatment options for inoperable lesions, as anti-progesterone therapy may hold a promise as a new treatment option in the near future.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina M Williams ◽  
Sarah A Rudzinskas ◽  
Jessica A Mong

Methamphetamine, a psychostimulant drug of abuse, increases sexual motivation both in humans and in rodent models. The activation of dopamine type-1 receptors (D1Rs) within the medial amygdala, in the presence of ovarian hormones (EB+P), are both necessary and sufficient for increases in proceptive, or sexually motivated, behaviors. Here, we demonstrate that methamphetamine increases progesterone receptor expression in the medial amygdala independently of D1R activation, and that lentiviral overexpression of the progesterone receptor was able to recapitulate the methamphetamine-induced enhancement of proceptive behaviors. Furthermore, we found that within the medial amygdala, these progesterone receptors show an increase in phosphorylation of serine 294 of the progesterone receptor in a region-specific manner. The involvement of this phosphorylation site suggests a role for cytosolic kinases, which may be responsible for enhanced progesterone receptor action. The phosphorylation of serine 294 is blocked by D1R antagonists, and by inhibiting cSrc and ERK1/2, downstream of D1R signaling, we identified that Src and ERK1/2 are required for enhanced proceptive behavior. Taken together, we propose that within the medial amygdala, methamphetamine enhances progesterone receptors sensitivity to its cognate ligand via interaction with cSrc kinase and ERK1/2, as well as an increase total progesterone receptors, thus leading to enhanced proceptive behaviors in the rat.


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