Project description:Progesterone (P4) is essential to prepare the endometrium for a successful pregnancy. While P4 resistance is a major cause of infertility that leads to endometrial disorders, such as endometriosis, the underlying epigenetic imbalance responsible for P4 resistance in the endometrium remains unclear. We demonstrated that CXXC finger protein 1 (CFP1), a major mediator of histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4m3), is an indispensable factor in the maintenance of epigenetic landscapes of P4-progesterone receptor (PGR) signaling networks in the uterus. Cfp1flox/flox;Pgr-Cre (Cfp1d/d) mice suffered from impaired P4 responses, leading to abnormal uterine cell proliferation and complete failure of embryo implantation and decidualization, albeit regular estrous cycle with normal hormone profiles. mRNA and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing analyses showed that CFP1 binding enriches promoter regions to regulate uterine mRNA landscapes not only in H3K4me3-dependent but also in H3K4me3-independent manners. Especially, CFP1 directly regulates subsets of important P4 response genes, including Gata2, Sox17, and Ihh, which mediate the activation of the smoothened signaling pathway in the uterus. P4 cannot interfere with E2 actions on uterine epithelial proliferation in Cfp1d/d mice, which was restored by supplementing a smoothened agonist (SAG). Furthermore, ectopic lesions of Cfp1d/d uterus in an endometriosis model showed P4 resistance, which was rescued by SAG. In human endometriosis, CFP1, GATA2, SOX17, and IHH, were significantly downregulated, and a positive correlation was found in the expression levels between CFP1 and these P4 targets regardless of PGR levels. Collectively, we suggest that CFP1 is an epigenetic modulator of P4-PGR signaling networks to promote uterine receptivity for embryo implantation and suppress endometriosis with P4 resistance. CFP1 is a key epigenetic factor that intervenes in the P4–epigenome–transcriptome networks for uterine function under physiologic and pathophysiologic conditions.
Project description:Progesterone (P4) acts via the endometrium to modify the uterine environment and promotes conceptus growth for elongation and pregnancy establishment. Ewes were ovariectomized and treated with P4 for 14 days or P4 for 14 days and RU486, a progesterone receptor antagonist, from days 8 to 14. Small RNA sequencing of endometrium and EVs from the uterine lumen detected expression of 768 miRNAs and P4 regulation of 9 endometrial and 7 extracellular vesicle miRNAs.
Project description:In this study, whole transcriptome changes induced by P4 were analysed by RNAseq following laser capture microdissection (LCM) of endometrial biopsies to isolate LE, GE and ST cells. The study was performed in cows without any sign of uterine disease (as assessed by uterine cytology). At 45 days postpartum, the presence of a Corpus Luteum (CL) assessed by ultrasonography and plasma P4 concentrations were used to categorise healthy cows at 45 days postpartum determine if cows were in luteal phase (CL, P4 concentrations ≥1 ng/ml; n=4) or not (no CL, P4 concentrations < 1ng/ml; n=9). Overall, endometrial LE, GE, and ST cells shown specific transcriptomic profiles with different proportions and type of genes expressed over 10 tpm. Most of the genes differentially expressed (DEGs) in response to P4 were cell type-specific (93.9%). Genes involved in cell cycle and nuclear division were under-expressed in presence of P4 in GE and LE, highlighting the anti-proliferative action of P4 in epithelial cells. Elevated P4 concentrations were also associated with the under-expression of estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) in GE and of oxytocin receptor (OXTR) in GE and ST. In ST, transcription factors such as SOX17 and FOXA2 , as well as interferon related genes which are known to regulate uterine epithelial–stromal crosstalk conveying to endometrial receptivity for embryo implantation, were over-expressed under P4. The results from this study show that progesterone regulates endometrial function in a cell type specific way, which looks independent of the expression of its main receptor PGR. These novel insights into uterine physiology, stand the cell compartment, rather than the whole tissue, as a physiological unit.
Project description:Greater progesterone (P4) concentrations during the follicular growth have been associated with greater quality of embryos produced by superovulated cows and heifers. However, it is yet to be determined the mechanisms by which oocyte exposure to greater P4 concentrations improves early embryo quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of different P4 concentrations during superovulation on the transcriptome profile of early bovine embryos. A total of 63 post-puberty Holstein heifers were randomly assigned into two experimental groups: High P4 (n = 31) and Low P4 (n = 32). Heifers received a pre-synchronization protocol followed by a protocol of superovulation that included the allocated P4 treatment. Embryo collection was performed 7 days post artificial insemination and embryos were evaluated for stage of embryonic development and grades of quality. Embryos graded as good/excellent quality (High P4: n = 27; Low P4: n = 27) were randomly allocated in 3 biological replicates per treatment group, balanced for stage of embryonic development. Transcriptome analysis suggested that exposure to different concentrations of P4 during superovulation promote changes in gene expression of 7 days old embryos that may be related to their developmental competence. These modifications are associated with downregulation of beta-estradiol pathway, upregulation of trophoblast-related genes and downregulation of WNT signalling pathway. Our results suggest a potential sensitivity of future embryos to follicular P4 levels but do not allow to conclude if the effect is from the oocyte, the oviduct, or the uterus response to P4.
Project description:Inflammation plays a central role in many human diseases. Human parturition also resembles an inflammatory reaction, where progesterone (P4) and progesterone receptors (PRs) have already been demonstrated to suppress contraction-associated gene expression. In our previous studies, we have found that the progesterone actions, including progesterone-induced gene expression and progesterone’s anti-inflammatory effect, are mediated by PR, GR or both. In this study, we used microarrays to find P4 and IL-1β responsive genes and which IL-1β responsive genes were repressed by P4. These data may provide a broader view of gene networks and cellular functions regulated by P4 and IL-1βin human myometrial cells. In our future study, this will also help us understand the role of PR and GR in human parturition.
Project description:Progesterone (P4) signaling through its nuclear transcription factor, the progesterone receptor (PR), is essential for normal uterine function. Although deregulation of PR mediated signaling is known to underscore uterine dysfunction and a number of endometrial pathologies, the early molecular mechanisms of this deregulation are unclear. To address this issue, we have defined the genome-wide PR and GATA2 cistrome in the murine uterus using chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by massively parallel sequencing (ChIP-seq). In uteri of ovariectomized mice, we identified 6367 PR binding sites in the absence of P4 ligand; however, this number increased at nearly three fold (18,432) following acute P4 exposure. Sequence analysis revealed that approximately 73% of these binding sites contain a progesterone response element (PRE) or a half-site motif recognized by the PR. Many previously identified P4 target genes known to regulate uterine function were found to contain PR binding sites, confirming the validity of our methodology. In addition we identified 46,183 GATA2 binding sites in P4 treatment conditions with 7,954 binding sites overlapping that of the PR. Examination of PR and Gata2 binding in whole or epithelial isolated mouse uterine tissue upon acute vehicle/P4 treatement
Project description:Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a grade IV astrocytoma, is the most common and aggressive brain tumor in adults, characterized by being highly infiltrative, angiogenic, and resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In previous works, has been determined that progesterone P4 increases proliferation, migration and invasion of cells derived from human GBMs through the interaction with its intracellular receptor (PR). In breast cancer, there exist evidence that P4 regulates the expression of miRNAs with tumor suppressor or oncogenic action, via the classical PR. The signature of miRNAs affected by P4 treatment in cells derived from human GBMs has not been determined. Therefore, we studied the effect of P4 on miRNAs expression pattern in U251 cells derived from a human GBM.
Project description:Inflammation plays a central role in many human diseases. Human parturition also resembles an inflammatory reaction, where progesterone (P4) and progesterone receptors (PRs) have already been demonstrated to suppress contraction-associated gene expression. In our previous studies, we have found that the progesterone actions, including progesterone-induced gene expression and progesterone’s anti-inflammatory effect, are mediated by PR, GR or both. In this study, we used microarrays to find P4 and IL-1β responsive genes and which IL-1β responsive genes were repressed by P4. These data may provide a broader view of gene networks and cellular functions regulated by P4 and IL-1βin human myometrial cells. In our future study, this will also help us understand the role of PR and GR in human parturition. Primary cultures of human myometrial cells were grown from myometrial biopsies obtained at the time of elective caesarean section. Cells were exposed to different stimuli, IL-1β (5ng/mL) and P4 (10 µM), either alone or in combination for 6 h, and then total RNA were extracted from each culture. Three comparisons were carried out including: 1. V vs. P4; 2. V vs. IL-1β; 3. IL-1β vs. IL-1β+P4.
Project description:Circulating progesterone (P4) levels decline before the onset of parturition in most animals, but not in humans. This has led to the suggestion that there is functional withdrawal of P4 action at the myometrial level prior to labor onset. However, to date, no evidence of a loss of P4 function has been provided. Mifepristone is a mixed progesterone and glucocorticoid receptor antagonist that is frequently used to induce human labor. However, its effect on the myometrial tissue transcriptome hs not been determined. In this study, we aimed to identify the effects of mifepristone treatment on the pregnant myometrium at term in order to better understand the possible mechanisms underlying the loss of P4 function in human labor.