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Wagner GP, Nnamani MC, Chavan AR, Maziarz J, Protopapas S, Condon J, Romero R. Evolution of Gene Expression in the Uterine Cervix related to Steroid Signaling: Conserved features in the regulation of cervical ripening. Sci Rep 2017; 7:4439. [PMID: 28667298 PMCID: PMC5493687 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-04759-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2016] [Accepted: 05/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The uterine cervix is the boundary structure between the uterus and the vagina and is key for the maintenance of pregnancy and timing of parturition. Here we report on a comparative transcriptomic study of the cervix of four placental mammals, mouse, guinea pig, rabbit and armadillo, and one marsupial, opossum. Our aim is to investigate the evolution of cervical gene expression as related to putative mechanisms for functional progesterone withdrawal. Our findings are: 1) The patterns of gene expression in eutherian (placental) mammals are consistent with the notion that an increase in the E/P4 signaling ratio is critical for cervical ripening. How the increased E/P4 ratio is achieved, however, is variable between species. 2) None of the genes related to steroid signaling, that are modulated in eutherian species, change expression during opossum gestation. 3) A tendency for decreased expression of progesterone receptor co-activators (NCOA1, -2 and -3, and CREBBP) towards term is a shared derived feature of eutherians. This suggests that parturition is associated with broad scale histone de-acetylation. Western-blotting on mouse cervix confirmed large scale histone de-acetylation in labor. This finding may have important implications for the control of premature cervical ripening and prevention of preterm birth in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Günter P Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA. .,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA. .,Yale Systems Biology Institute, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA. .,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA.
| | - Mauris C Nnamani
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.,Yale Systems Biology Institute, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA
| | - Arun Rajendra Chavan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.,Yale Systems Biology Institute, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA
| | - Jamie Maziarz
- Yale Systems Biology Institute, West Haven, CT, 06516, USA
| | | | - Jennifer Condon
- Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD, NIH, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA
| | - Roberto Romero
- Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD, NIH, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.,Department of Epidemiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
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Bradshaw FJ, Bradshaw D. Progesterone and reproduction in marsupials: a review. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2011; 170:18-40. [PMID: 20688062 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2010.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2010] [Revised: 07/25/2010] [Accepted: 07/28/2010] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Progesterone (P4) profiles throughout pregnancy and the oestrous cycle are reviewed in a wide range of marsupial species, representing 12 Families, and focus on the corpus luteum (CL) and its functioning, compared with its eutherian counterpart. Physiologically, P4 subtends the same fundamental processes supporting gestation in marsupials as it does in eutherian mammals, from its role in stimulating the secretory endometrium, effecting nutritional transfer across the placenta and establishing lactogenesis. Before the formation of the CL, however, secretion of P4 is widespread throughout many Families and the dual roles of P4 in the induction of sexual behaviour and ovulation are exposed. In Dasyuridae, raised levels of P4 are linked with the induction of sexual receptivity and are also present around the time of mating in Burramyidae, Petauridae and Tarsipedidae, but their function is unknown. Only in Didelphidae has research established that the pheromonally-induced levels of pro-oestrous P4 trigger ovulation. This is principally the role of oestradiol in the eutherian and may be an important difference between the marsupial and the eutherian. The deposition of the shell coat around the early marsupial embryo is also a function of P4, but perhaps the most striking difference is seen in the time taken to form the CL. This is not always immediate and the maximum secretion of P4 from the granulosa cells may not occur until some 2 weeks after ovulation. The slower development of the CL in some species is linked with delays in the development of the embryo during its unattached phase and results in relatively long gestation periods. A common feature of these, in monovular species, is a short pulse of P4 from the newly-luteinised CL, which is all that is needed for the subsequent development of the embryo to term. Maternal recognition of pregnancy occurs soon after the formation of the blastocyst, with embryo-induced changes in ovarian production of P4 and the uterine endometrium. The embryo, similar to the eutherian, determines the length of the gestation period and initiates its own birth, but in direct contrast, the embryo of some marsupial species shortens the life-span of the CL. The evidence points to a different strategy; one of a reduction, rather than an expansion of the potential ovarian and placental support available during pregnancy. The marsupial mode of reproduction, where all species produce highly altricial young, receiving complex and extensive maternal care, has facilitated the adaptive radiation of this group and avoided the need for precociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felicity J Bradshaw
- School of Animal Biology M092, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
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Sheehan PM, Rice GE, Moses EK, Brennecke SP. 5β-Dihydroprogesterone and steroid 5β–reductase decrease in association with human parturition at term. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2005; 11:495-501. [PMID: 16123077 DOI: 10.1093/molehr/gah201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
The role of progesterone withdrawal in human parturition continues to provoke controversy. One possible mechanism by which functional progesterone withdrawal may be achieved is by a decrease in the circulating concentration of its bioactive metabolites. The progesterone metabolite 5beta-dihydroprogesterone (5betaDHP) has been shown to be a potent tocolytic in vitro. We quantified plasma concentrations of 5betaDHP in association with the onset of spontaneous labour in women at term and steroid 5beta-reductase mRNA expression in placenta, myometrium, chorion and amnion in relation to parturition, using real time RT-PCR. Serial blood samples were obtained from patients late in pregnancy, before term labour, during term labour and within the first 24 h postpartum. Following organic solvent extraction, steroids including 5betaDHP were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and then quantified by radioimmunoassay (RIA). 5betaDHP concentration decreased two-fold (P = 0.00001, n = 25) from 0.317 +/- 0.039 nmol/ml to 0.178 +/- 0.017 nmol/ml in association with active labour. Tissue 5beta-reductase mRNA-relative abundance was determined in placenta, myometrium, chorion and amnion obtained from labouring and non-labouring women. In placenta and myometrium, relative expression decreased significantly in association with labour, by about two-fold and 10-fold, respectively. These data are consistent with a possible role for 5betaDHP in the onset of spontaneous human labour. Further studies exploring this hitherto unrecognized endocrinological pathway are indicated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Penelope M Sheehan
- Pregnancy Research Centre and University of Melbourne Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Royal Women's Hospital, Carlton, Victoria, Australia.
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Abstract
In this review, our knowledge, gleaned from a range of species, of what determines gestation length, how fetal maturation and birth are synchronized and how the uterotonic mechanisms are activated at birth are discussed. Accumulated data indicate that fetal glucocorticoids are involved in, but do not necessarily play a causative role in, the initiation of parturition in eutherian mammals generally. Present observations are consistent with a complex, positive regulatory interaction between estrogens, prostaglandins and oxytocin and are consistent with a role for prostaglandins as the final, common effector in myometrial activation. We are, however, left with the possibility that the initial mechanism for the timing of birth is encoded in the fetal genome and is closely linked to, and activated when, certain prerequisite developmental events have occurred in the fetus. Our understanding of these events in the sheep have led to its extensive use as an experimental model for the study of human clinical correlates of fetal maturation and development and the control of the initiation of parturition.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Jenkin
- Department of Physiology, P.O. Box 13F, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia.
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Thomas JL, Nash WE, Crankshaw MW, Strickler RC. Affinity labeling in the presence of the reduced diphosphopyridine nucleotide NADH identifies peptides associated with the activities of human placental 3 beta-hydroxy-delta 5-steroid dehydrogenase/isomerase. JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR GYNECOLOGIC INVESTIGATION 1994; 1:155-63. [PMID: 9419765 DOI: 10.1177/107155769400100211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We sought to identify peptides associated with activity in the primary structure of human placental 3 beta-hydroxy-delta 5-steroid dehydrogenase/isomerase (3 beta-HSD/isomerase). METHODS Purified human placental 3 beta-HSD/isomerase was affinity-radioalkylated by 2 alpha-bromo [2'-14C]acetoxyprogesterone (2 alpha-[14C]BAP) in the presence or absence of the reduced diphosphopyridine nucleotide, NADH. NADH protected both 3 beta-HSD and isomerase from inactivation by 2 alpha-[14C]BAP. Tryptic peptides of unprotected and NADH-protected radioalkylated enzyme were purified by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The amino acid sequence of each radiolabeled peptide was determined and localized within the cDNA-derived primary structure of the enzyme. RESULTS According to the sequence analyses, NADH shifted radioalkylation by 2 alpha-[14C]BAP away from the Arg-250 peptide (251GQFYYISDDTPHQSYDNLNYTLSK274) and toward the Lys-135 tryptic peptide (136EIIQNGHEEEPLENTWPAPYPHSK159). Based on amino acid analysis to quantitate radioactivity incorporated per nmol peptide, NADH decreased the radiolabeling of His262 in the Arg-250 peptide by 8.2-fold. His142 in the Lys-135 peptide was radiolabeled by 2 alpha-[14C]BAP only in the presence of NADH. CONCLUSIONS We have previously reported that the substrate pregnenolone blocks the inactivation of 3 beta-HSD by 2 alpha-[14C]BAP through the protection of His262 in the Arg-250 peptide. Protection by NADH against the inactivation of isomerase as well as 3 beta-HSD is evidence that 2 alpha-[14C]BAP binds at the active sites of both enzyme activities. Because the same Arg-250 peptide has been affinity-alkylated in studies that targeted each of the two activities, we propose that the 3 beta-HSD and isomerase reactions are catalyzed in this region of the enzyme protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Thomas
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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Taylor NF, Martin MC, Nathanielsz PW, Seron-Ferre M. The fetus determines circadian oscillation of myometrial electromyographic activity in the pregnant rhesus monkey. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1983; 146:557-67. [PMID: 6859179 DOI: 10.1016/0002-9378(83)90803-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Uterine electromyographic activity in the pregnant rhesus monkey showed two types of episodic electrical events, defined on the basis of duration of the episodes. One of these (designated type I in this report) was characterized by frequent bursts of electrical activity that lasted from 0.5 to 1.2 minutes (mean duration, 0.64 +/- 0.007 [SE] minutes) and occurred at frequencies of 10 to 45 per hour. The other type of electromyographic activity observed (type II) consisted of fragmented series of discharges that lasted 2 to 15 minutes (mean duration, 5.45 +/- 0.12 [SE] minutes) and occurred at frequencies of 0 to 6 per hour. The frequency of type I electromyographic events showed a circadian pattern of low amplitude with a maximum at night in animals with minimal uterine manipulation (electrodes only). This daily pattern was amplified during the 8 to 10 days that preceded delivery. Hysterotomy and fetal catheterization induced a circadian increase in the frequency of type I electromyographic events akin to that observed during the predelivery period. Fetal death abolished the high-amplitude circadian variation of type I electromyographic events both postoperatively and in the predelivery period. These data indicate that the fetus plays a role in the regulation of uterine type I electromyographic activity in the rhesus monkey.
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Sellers SM, Mitchell MD, Bibby JG, Anderson AB, Turnbull AC. A comparison of plasma prostaglandin levels in term and preterm labour. BRITISH JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY 1981; 88:362-6. [PMID: 7225293 DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1981.tb00997.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Peripheral plasma levels of 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F (PGFM) were determined in women during pregnancy and in term and preterm labour. The PGFM concentrations at term were not significantly different from the levels between 26 and 34 weeks gestation. In both term and preterm labour there was a rise in PGFM levels with increasing cervical dilatation although the mean values tended to be lower during preterm labour. These findings may provide an explanation for the effectiveness of prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors in suppressing myometrial activity in preterm labour.
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