Estrogen and progesterone metabolism in the cervix during pregnancy and parturition.
BACKGROUND
Experimental and clinical studies in a variety of nonprimate species demonstrate that progesterone withdrawal leads to changes in gene expression that initiate parturition at term. Mice deficient in 5alpha-reductase type I fail to undergo cervical ripening at term despite the timely onset of luteolysis and progesterone withdrawal in blood.


OBJECTIVE
Our objective was to test the hypothesis that estrogen and progesterone metabolism is regulated in cervical tissues during pregnancy, even in species in which parturition is not characterized by progesterone withdrawal in blood.


METHODS
Estradiol and progesterone metabolism was quantified in intact cervical tissues from nonpregnant and pregnant women at term before or after labor.


METHODS
The study was conducted at a university hospital.


METHODS
Tissues were obtained from five nonpregnant and 21 pregnant women (nine before labor and 12 in labor).


METHODS
Enzyme activity measurements, Northern blot analysis, quantitative real-time RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry were used to quantify steroid hormone metabolizing enzymes in cervical and myometrial tissues.


RESULTS
During pregnancy, 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 was induced in glandular epithelial cells to catalyze the conversion of estradiol to estrone and stroma-derived 20alpha-hydroxyprogesterone to progesterone. During parturition, 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 was down-regulated in endocervical cells, thereby creating a microenvironment favorable for cervical ripening.


CONCLUSIONS
Together, the data indicate that cervical ripening during parturition involves localized regulation of estrogen and progesterone metabolism through a complex relationship between cervical epithelium and stroma, and that steroid hormone metabolism in cervical tissues from pregnant women is unique from that in mice.
Andersson
Stefan
S
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9032, USA.
Minjarez
Debra
D
Yost
Nicole P
NP
Word
R Ann
RA
D015067:17-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases / Q000378:metabolism; D015089:20-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015096:3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013741:3-Oxo-5-alpha-Steroid 4-Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000074425:Aldo-Keto Reductase Family 1 Member C3; D000818:Animals; D020070:Cervical Ripening / Q000378:metabolism; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D004960:Estradiol Dehydrogenases; D004967:Estrogens / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D006911:Hydroxyprostaglandin Dehydrogenases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006913:Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D009215:Myometrium / Q000378:metabolism; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D036801:Parturition / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011374:Progesterone / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D045002:3-alpha-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase (B-Specific)
D015067:17-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases; D015089:20-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases; D015096:3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases; D013741:3-Oxo-5-alpha-Steroid 4-Dehydrogenase; D000074425:Aldo-Keto Reductase Family 1 Member C3; D004960:Estradiol Dehydrogenases; D004967:Estrogens; D006911:Hydroxyprostaglandin Dehydrogenases; D006913:Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases; D010088:Oxidoreductases; D011374:Progesterone; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C115140:3 alpha-beta, 20 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase; C435496:AKR1C2 protein, human; D045002:3-alpha-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase (B-Specific); C487341:AKR1C3 protein, human; C523763:HSD17B2 protein, human; C048338:trans-1,2-dihydrobenzene-1,2-diol dehydrogenase