title: Progesterone enhances immunoregulatory activity of human mesenchymal stem cells via PGE2 and IL-6.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Progesterone (P4) plays a central role in the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. It also has profound effects on the regulation of immune responses. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are thought to have the ability to modulate immunocyte activation, are present in human endometrium and deciduas and highly express progesterone receptor (PR). Especially, during pregnancy, both P4 and MSCs are present and regulatively changed at the fetal-maternal interface, but the effect of P4 on the MSCs remains unknown. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of P4 on the immunomodulatory ability of MSCs and the underlying mechanisms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mesenchymal stem cells were obtained from human umbilical cords. The effects of P4 on the cell morphology, phenotype, proliferation, apoptosis, and expression levels of cytokine and protein were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Progesterone did not affect the phenotype, morphology, proliferation, and apoptosis of MSCs, but promoted the production of PGE2 and IL-6 in MSCs. Furthermore, the up-regulation of PGE2 and IL-6 was related to the activation of p38 and NF-κB.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Progesterone enhances immunomodulatory function of MSCs through up-regulation of PGE2 and IL-6. The data suggest that P4-regulated MSCs may play a crucial role in modulating the local immune balance of fetal-maternal interface.
authors: Immunology and Reproductive Biology Lab, Medical School & State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors: Xiaoyin
authors: X
authors: Zhao
authors: Liu
authors: L
authors: Liu
authors: Dan
authors: D
authors: Liu
authors: Hongye
authors: H
authors: Fan
authors: Yaping
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: Yali
authors: Y
authors: Hu
authors: Yayi
authors: Y
authors: Hou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D015232:Dinoprostone / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D056747:Immunomodulation / Q000187:drug effects; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000276:immunology*; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011374:Progesterone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D058408:Th1-Th2 Balance / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D011374:Progesterone; D015232:Dinoprostone