Progesterone effect on intracellular inorganic sulphate in uterine epithelial cells

Reduced Dehydroepiandrosterone-Sulfate Levels in the Mid-Luteal Subphase of the Menstrual Cycle: Implications to Women's Health Research

The regulation of DHEA-sulfate by steroid sulfotransferase (SULT) and steryl-sulfatase (STS) enzymes is a vital process for the downstream formation of many steroid hormones. DHEA-sulfate is the most abundant steroid hormone in the human body; thus, DHEA-sulfate and its hydrolyzed form, DHEA, continue to be evaluated in numerous studies, given their importance to human health. Yet, a basic question of relevance to the reproductive-age female population-whether the two steroid hormones vary across the menstrual cycle-has not been addressed. We applied a validated, multi-step protocol, involving realignment and imputation of study data to early follicular, mid-late follicular, periovulatory, and early, mid-, and late luteal subphases of the menstrual cycle, and analyzed DHEA-sulfate and DHEA serum concentrations using ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. DHEA-sulfate levels started to decrease in the early luteal, significantly dropped in the mid-luteal, and returned to basal levels by the late luteal subphase. DHEA, however, did not vary across the menstrual cycle. The present study deep-mapped trajectories of DHEA and DHEA-sulfate across the entire menstrual cycle, demonstrating a significant decrease in DHEA-sulfate in the mid-luteal subphase. These findings are relevant to the active area of research examining associations between DHEA-sulfate levels and various disease states.

Effect of progesterone on hydrophobic cell-associated proteoglycans bound to cholesterol sulfate in glandular epithelial cells of guinea-pig endometrium

Sulfate incorporation was studied in subcultured glandular epithelial cells of guinea-pig endometrium untreated or treated with 10(-8) M 17 beta-estradiol alone or associated with various concentrations of progesterone. In the cells treated with progesterone in association with 17 beta-estradiol, the maximum of the 35S-labelled cell-associated macromolecules failed to bind with an anion-exchange resin (53% of total radioactivity) and had a hydrophobic character. This fraction was separated as an aggregate when the cells were extracted with 4 M guanidine-HCl, and separated as a single component in the presence of Triton X-100, suggesting that it aggregates with cellular lipid. The guanidine-extracted material contained 23.5% proteoglycans. However, the bulk of the radioactivity was in the sulfated lipids (68-75%), essentially represented by cholesterol sulfate. In the progesterone-treated cells, the amount of cholesterol sulfate was significantly higher than in 17 beta-estradiol-treated or untreated cells (1.35-1.5-fold). Thus, the effect of progesterone is located on a lipophilic proteoglycan associated with cholesterol sulfate. These results are discussed in relation to the preparation of the endometrium for embryo implantation.

Progesterone stimulates sulfate uptake in subcultured endometrial epithelial cells

The effect of progesterone was studied on the sulfate entry in glandular epithelial cells of guinea-pig endometrium subcultured in bicameral chambers on matrix-coated filters in a chemically defined medium. At post-confluency (8 days of subculture), cells were treated with 10 nM estradiol alone or in association with various concentrations of progesterone. Optimal progesterone action was at a 16 h incubation time and a 10 nM hormonal concentration. Progesterone increased in a dose-dependent fashion the sulfate uptake specifically in glandular epithelial cells, preferentially from the basal surface. Progesterone effect on the sulfate uptake occurred only in estradiol-primed epithelial cells and was inhibited by the antiprogestin steroid RU-486. The progesterone-dependent increase in sulfate uptake was inhibited by the inhibitor of anion exchange, 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS). At physiological sulfate concentrations, progesterone essentially induces a high-affinity DIDS-sensitive transport system.