title: Effects of progesterone treatment on expression of genes involved in uterine quiescence.
abstract: An important action of progesterone during pregnancy is to maintain the uterus in a quiescent state and thereby prevent preterm labor. The causes of preterm labor are not well understood, so progesterone action on the myometrium can provide clues about the processes that keep the uterus from contracting prematurely. Accordingly, we have carried out Affymetrix GeneChip analysis of progesterone effects on gene expression in immortalized human myometrial cells cultured from a patient near the end of pregnancy. Progesterone appears to inhibit uterine excitability by a number of mechanisms, including increased expression of calcium and voltage-operated K(+) channels, which dampens the electrical activity of the myometrial cell, downregulation of agents, and receptors involved in myometrial contraction, reduction in cell signal components that lead to increased intracellular Ca(2+) concentrations in response to contractile stimuli, and downregulation of proteins involved in the cross-linking of actin and myosin filaments to produce uterine contractions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA. msoloff @ utmb.edu
authors.forename: Melvyn S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Soloff
authors.forename: Yow-Jiun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Jeng
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Izban
authors.forename: Mala
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.forename: Bruce A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Luxon
authors.forename: Susan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Stamnes
authors.forename: Sarah K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: England
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D009215:Myometrium / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011374:Progesterone / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000502:physiology; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014590:Uterine Contraction / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D011374:Progesterone; D012313:RNA