| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Research Article |
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,3 University of Cincinnati, Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45267
Imperial College Parturition Research Group,4 Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Imperial College School of Medicine, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, SW10 9NH, United Kingdom
ABSTRACT
The change from uterine quiescence to enhanced contractile activity may be due to the differential expression of prostaglandin receptors within the myometrium and fetal membranes, in a temporal and topographically distinct manner. To address this question, we determined the localization and expression of the PGE2 receptor subtypes (PTGER1–4) and the PGF2alpha receptor (PTGFR) in paired upper and lower segment myometrium, amnion, and choriodecidual samples throughout human pregnancy, with and without labor.
All receptor subtypes were found throughout the muscle layers in both the upper and lower uterine segments, colocalizing with alpha smooth muscle actin. A change in intracellular localization was observed at term labor, where PTGER1 and PTGER4 were predominately associated with the nucleus. Minimal changes in the expression of the PGE2 and PGF2alpha receptor subtypes were observed with gestational age, labor, or between the upper and lower myometrial segments. Receptor expression in maternal and fetal tissues differed between the receptor subtypes; PTGER1 and PTGER4 were predominately expressed in the fetal membranes, PTGER2 was greatest in the myometrium, whereas PTGER3 and PTGFR were similarly expressed in the myometrium and fetal membranes.
Myometrial activation through the prostaglandin receptors is perhaps more subtle and may be mediated by a balance between one or several of the prostaglandin receptor subtypes together with other known contraction associated proteins. Lack of coordination in receptor expression between the myometrium and fetal membranes may indicate different regulatory mechanisms between these tissues, or it may suggest a function for these receptors in the amnion and choriodecidua that is independent of that seen in the myometrium.
fetal membranes, mechanisms of hormone action, myometrium, parturition, prostaglandin receptors, steroid hormones, steroid hormone receptors
1 Supported by NIH Grant number HD 40285–01A1.
2 Correspondence: Peta Grigsby, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, MSB 5456, University of Cincinnati, 231 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45267. FAX: 513 558 6103; grigsbpl{at}ucmail.uc.edu
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  J. A. Carvajal, A. M. Delpiano, M. A. Cuello, J. A. Poblete, P. C. Casanello, L. A. Sobrevia, and C. P. Weiner Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) Produced by the Human Chorioamnion May Mediate Pregnancy Myometrial Quiescence Reproductive Sciences, January 1, 2009; 16(1): 32 - 42. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 F. C. Denison, S. Battersby, A. E. King, M. Szuber, and H. N. Jabbour Prokineticin-1: A Novel Mediator of the Inflammatory Response in Third-Trimester Human Placenta Endocrinology, July 1, 2008; 149(7): 3470 - 3477. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. P Fischer, J. A Hutchinson, D. Farrar, P. J O'Donovan, D. F Woodward, and K. M Marshall Loss of prostaglandin F2{alpha}, but not thromboxane, responsiveness in pregnant human myometrium during labour J. Endocrinol., April 1, 2008; 197(1): 171 - 179. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Z. Liang, S.R. Sooranna, N. Engineer, M. Tattersall, S. Khanjani, P.R. Bennett, L. Myatt, and M.R. Johnson Prostaglandin F2-alpha receptor regulation in human uterine myocytes Mol. Hum. Reprod., April 1, 2008; 14(4): 215 - 223. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Astle, R. Newton, S. Thornton, M. Vatish, and D.M. Slater Expression and regulation of prostaglandin E synthase isoforms in human myometrium with labour Mol. Hum. Reprod., January 1, 2007; 13(1): 69 - 75. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
