title: Progesterone, but not 17beta-estradiol, increases TNF-alpha secretion in U937 monocytes.
abstract: The Women Health Initiative Clinical trial results suggest that post-menopausal women receiving estrogen + progesterone are at risk for heart disease compared with estrogen alone supplemented women. We examined the hypothesis that progesterone but not 17beta-estradiol (E) increases the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. U937 human monocytes were cultured with normal or high glucose in the presence and absence of estrogen or progesterone at 37 degrees C for 24 h. Results show that estrogen inhibits IL-6 but not TNF-alpha secretion (p < 0.05) in monocytes activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or high glucose. In addition, progesterone increased the TNF-alpha secretion in activated monocytes. Thus, progesterone supplementation along with estrogen may increase blood levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha and thus risk of heart disease in post-menopausal women.
authors.affiliation: Caddo Magnet High School, 1601 Viking Drive, Shreveport, LA 71101, USA.
authors.forename: Sumati K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Krishnaswamy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kannan
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Prouty
authors.forename: Sushil K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Jain
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000378:metabolism; D004958:Estradiol / Q000378:metabolism*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006943:Hyperglycemia / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D009000:Monocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000378:metabolism; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D013739:Testosterone; D011374:Progesterone; D004958:Estradiol; D005947:Glucose