Constitutive androstane receptor expression in the rat cervix during gestation.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate expression of the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) in the pregnant rat cervix.


METHODS
Rat uterine tissue was obtained on gestational days 12, 16, 20, 21, and 22 (the day of parturition), and postpartum day 1. In addition, liver, lung, kidney, heart, and skeletal muscle tissue were obtained. Expression of the two known CAR isoforms was evaluated using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction.


RESULTS
These studies confirmed CAR expression in the liver; however, CAR was not demonstrated in the myometrium or cervical tissue.


CONCLUSIONS
The currently described CAR1 and CAR2 isoforms are not expressed in rat uterine tissue; therefore, they do not appear to participate in parturition in the pregnant rat.
Rychlik
D F
DF
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Bieber
E
E
Phillippe
M
M
D000818:Animals; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000378:metabolism*; D000090702:Constitutive Androstane Receptor; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005260:Female; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
D000090702:Constitutive Androstane Receptor; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; D014157:Transcription Factors