title: Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) regulation of galectin-3 expression in endometrial epithelial cells and endometrial stromal cells.
abstract: Previous investigations on galectin-3 (gal-3) have focused mainly on its role in some malignant tumors. It was believed that gal-3 plays important roles in cell proliferation, apoptosis and adhesion in many cell types. Recently, gal-3 has been recognized as a factor related to endometrial receptivity in the human endometrium and trophoblast during embryo implantation. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a specific embryonic hormone providing a signal from the embryo involved in preparing the receptive endometrium for embryo implantation. The current study aimed to determine whether hCG regulates gal-3 expression in endometrial cells. Our results showed that expression of gal-3 in both endometrial epithelial cells (EECs) and endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) could be regulated by hCG in an intricate manner. These results indicate that gal-3 might be regulated by hCG in preparing the endometrium for embryonic implantation.
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics & Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Cai Xia
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000378:metabolism*; D004717:Endometrium / Q000166:cytology*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D037502:Galectin 3 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D037502:Galectin 3