title: Neutral endopeptidase expressed by decidualized stromal cells suppresses akt phosphorylation and deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis induced by endothelin-1 in human endometrium.
abstract: Endothelin-1 (ET-1) in human endometrium has been proposed to have a potential paracrine role, for its receptors are also present within this tissue. In addition, the expression of ET-1 varies during the menstrual cycle, and therefore, ET-1 may be involved in the cyclic change of the human endometrium, such as proliferation and decidualization. However, neither the inactivation of ET-1 in the endometrium nor the paracrine effect of ET-1 on endometrial cells has been determined. We investigated the production of ET-1 and the presence of neutral endopeptidase (NEP), which cleaves and inactivates ET-1, in primary cultured human endometrial cells. We found primary cultured endometrial epithelial cells, not stromal cells, to be the major source of ET-1. Western blot analysis and RT-PCR demonstrated that NEP was predominantly expressed by endometrial stromal cells. We also demonstrated that ET-1 stimulated the phosphorylation of Akt and DNA synthesis in endometrial stromal cells via the ET(A) receptor and phospahtidylinositol-3 kinase signaling pathways. The effect of ET-1 was regulated by NEP expressed by stromal cells. We also found that conditioned medium containing ET-1 from endometrial epithelial cell culture stimulated phosphorylation of Akt via the ET(A) receptor. In conclusion, ET-1 has a paracrine effect of Akt phosphorylation and cell proliferation on endometrial stromal cells, which occurs via the ET(A) receptor and phospahtidylinositol-3 kinase signaling pathways, and is regulated by cell-surface NEP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan. akiwase@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iwase
authors.forename: Hisao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.forename: Tetsuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagasaka
authors.forename: Daijiro
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Toko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harata
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimomura
authors.forename: Maki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Fumitaka
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kikkawa
mesh_terms: D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004247:DNA / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D003656:Decidua / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D004717:Endometrium / Q000378:metabolism*; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015260:Neprilysin / Q000502:physiology*; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000494:pharmacology; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic / Q000494:pharmacology; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000502:physiology; D010766:Phosphorylation; D010880:Piperidines / Q000494:pharmacology; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism*; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D019332:Endothelin-1; D009842:Oligopeptides; D010456:Peptides, Cyclic; D010880:Piperidines; C086539:BQ 788; D004247:DNA; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D015260:Neprilysin; C072247:cyclo(Trp-Asp-Pro-Val-Leu)