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-Deficient Mice1
Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology (Sa.K.D., J.T.) and Molecular and Integrative Physiology (B.C.P., Su.K.D., Sa.K.D), Ralph L. Smith Research Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160; and Department of Biochemistry and Child Health (D.B.L), University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: S. K. Das, Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Molecular and Integrative Physiology, MRRC 37/3017, University of Kansas Medical Center, 39th and Rainbow Boulevard, Kansas City, Kansas 66160-7338. E-mail: sdas{at}kumc.edu
| Abstract |
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knock-out (ERKO) mice for induction of decidualization
employing a defined steroid hormonal treatment schedule. Our results
demonstrate that P4 alone induces decidualization in
ovariectomized wild-type or ERKO mice in response to intraluminal oil
infusion in the absence of estrogen. A combined treatment of either
estradiol-17ß (E2) or its catecholmetabolite
4-hydroxyestradiol-17ß (4-OH-E2) with P4 does
not potentiate the decidual response produced by P4
treatment alone in either ovariectomized wild-type or ERKO mice. The
induction of decidual response was associated with up-regulation of
decidual cell marker genes, such as progesterone receptor,
metallothionein-1, and cyclooxygenase-2. The results suggest that the
stromal cell sensitivity to decidualization is critically dependent on
P4-regulated events, and estrogenic induction of
progesterone receptor via classical nuclear ER-
is not critical for
this process. | Introduction |
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Normally, estrogen is required for the induction of progesterone
receptors (PR) in the uterus. However, the nature of interactions
between the two ovarian steroids that trigger the decidualization
process remains undefined. The down-regulation of the nuclear estrogen
receptor-
(ER-
) (9, 10, 11) and very low levels of ER-ß (12) in the
deciduum suggest that the participation of nuclear ERs is limited in
decidualization. In contrast, decidualization is associated with the
up-regulation of PR (11). Further, P4 is an absolute
requirement for sustained decidualization in the rodent (reviewed in
Ref. 4) because this response is prevented by blocking P4
actions with neutralizing antibody or administration of antiprogestins,
RU-486 or ZK299 (11, 13, 14). Paradoxically, continued P4
treatment preceded by estrogen priming and accompanied by a
"prenidatory" estrogen injection has been shown to be essential for
elicitation of decidualization in the mouse uterus by intraluminal oil
infusion, although estrogen is not an absolute requirement for
decidualization in P4-treated uterus by a traumatic
stimulus (15, 16). This differential responsiveness of the uterus to
decidual cell response under two different experimental conditions is
not clearly understood, but these observations suggest that an
up-regulation of uterine PR necessary for oil-induced response requires
estrogenic effects (13), whereas this up-regulation for trauma-induced
response does not require estrogenic effects. Nonetheless,
P4 effects via PR are primary requirements for
decidualization, and this is consistent with the observation of failure
of decidualization in PR knock-out (PRKO) mice (17).
We have recently demonstrated that certain effects of a
catecholestrogen 4-OH-E2 in the uterus is independent of
ER-
(18). Because estrogen is considered as an inducer of PR, we
examined whether estrogenic effects mediated by either primary
estrogen or catecholestrogen are essential for the induction of PR with
respect to decidualization in ERKO mice. We demonstrate herein that
decidual response induced by intraluminal oil infusion is elicited by
P4 alone in ovariectomized ERKO mice in the absence of any
estrogenic treatments.
| Materials and Methods |
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(ERKO) were housed in the
animal care facility at the University of Kansas Medical Center in
accordance with NIH standards for the care and use of experimental
animals. Adult wild-type and ERKO mice were ovariectomized and rested
for one week before any treatments were initiated.
Treatment schedules for decidualization
The protocol for the induction of decidualization (deciduoma)
has previously been described (7, 19). To examine whether
P4 alone can induce deciduoma, ovariectomized wild-type or
ERKO mice were injected with P4 (1 mg) for 3 days (days
13). The induction of deciduoma was initiated by infusing sesame oil
(25 µl) in one uterine horn on day 4, whereas the contralateral horn
served as a control. Mice were maintained on daily injection of
P4 (1 mg) from days 47. They were killed on day 8 and
uterine wet weights of the infused and noninfused (control) horns were
recorded. To examine decidual response in the presence of estrogens and
P4, ovariectomized wild-type or ERKO mice were treated as
follows: E2 (100 ng) or 4-OH-E2 (100 ng) for 3
days (days 13), no treatments on days 4 and 5, P4 (1 mg)
plus E2 (10 ng) or 4-OH-E2 (10 ng) on days 6
and 7, and P4 (1 mg) on days 811. Intraluminal oil
injection was made on day 8. Mice were killed on day 12 and uterine wet
weights of the infused and noninfused (control) horns were recorded.
The fold increases in uterine weights were used as an index of
decidualization. After recording wet weights, uteri were frozen and
stored at -70 C. Decidual cell reaction was confirmed by histological
examination and by examining the expression of decidual cell marker
genes.
Hybridization probes
The subcloning and vectors for mouse cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2),
PR, and metallothionein-1 (MT-1) complementary DNAs have been
previously described (7, 20, 21, 22). A 347-bp complementary DNA fragment
(nt 175521) for mouse ER-ß (23) was derived by RT-PCR using mouse
ovary RNA sample. The fragment was subcloned in pCR-Script
(SK)+ vector and the sequencing was performed by dideoxy
method to confirm the nucleotide sequence. For hybridization, antisense
32P-labeled cRNA probes were generated using SP6
polymerase. For in situ hybridization, sense and antisense
35S-labeled cRNA probes were generated using appropriate
RNA polymerases. The probes had specific activities of 2 x
109 dpm/µg.
In situ hybridization
In situ hybridization was performed as previously
described (18, 24, 25). In brief, frozen sectioned were mounted onto
poly-L-lysine coated slides and fixed in 4%
paraformaldehyde in PBS for 15 min at 4 C. Sections were prehybridized
followed by hybridization with 35S-labeled specific cRNA
probes for 4 h at 45 C. After hybridization and washing, the
sections were incubated with RNase-A (20 µg/ml) at 37 C for 20 min.
RNase-A resistant hybrids were detected by autoradiography using Kodak
NB-2 liquid emulsion (Eastman Kodak Co.). The slides were
poststained with hematoxylin and eosin. The reddish brown grains
indicate the sites of messenger RNA (mRNA) accumulation. This hue is
the result of lateral light scattering from the eosin staining under
dark-field microscopy. Sectioned hybridized with the sense probes
served as negative controls. Computer-assisted image analysis (OPTIMA
II program) of grain densities under darkfield of five different
regions on each section showing positive signals was used to quantitate
autoradiographic signals.
| Results |
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Expression of PR mRNAs in infused and noninfused uteri of wild-type
and ERKO mice
Because up-regulation of PR is associated with decidualization
(11), we examined the expression of PR mRNA in experimentally induced
deciduoma in wild-type and ERKO mice. Consistent with the previous
report (27), low basal levels of PR mRNA were detected in uteri of
noninfused horns of both wild-type (data not shown) and ERKO mice
irrespective of hormone treatments (Fig. 2a
). However, the levels of PR mRNA
accumulation were higher in decidualizing stromal cells in oil-infused
uterine horns of both the wild-type (Fig. 2e
) and ERKO (Fig. 2
, bd)
mice irrespective of hormone treatments. The quantitation of
autoradiographic signals by image analysis (OPTIMA II program) showed
significant accumulation of PR mRNA (4- to 5-fold), in the
decidualizing stroma compared with that of the noninfused uterine
stroma in both wild-type and ERKO mice under each hormonal condition
examined (Fig. 3
). However, increases in
mRNA accumulation in the decidualizing stroma were not significantly
different among the treatment groups (Fig. 3
).
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| Discussion |
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in the
process of decidualization. We examined decidual response in the
ovariectomized wild-type and ERKO mice using an established protocol
for experimentally induced decidualization as described previously by
us (7). Our data clearly demonstrate that P4 alone can
induce deciduoma in oil-infused uterine horns in both the wild-type and
ERKO mice (Fig. 1
The induction of deciduoma in ERKO mice in the absence of estrogens
strongly suggests that the involvement of ER-
is not essential in
this process. We have recently demonstrated that although
E2 is ineffective in inducing an estrogen-responsive gene,
LF, in uteri of ovariectomized ERKO mice,
4-OH-E2 was effective in this response. The induction of LF
by 4-OH-E2 was not altered by either E2 or by
an antiestrogen (18). These results suggested that 4-OH-E2
mediated effects on LF gene expression do not involve classical ERs.
Thus, the existence of a novel nuclear or a membrane receptor for
4-OH-E2 is speculated (29, 30, 31, 32). The relative binding
studies with in vitro translated proteins have shown that
the ER-ß is able to bind E2 or 4-OH-E2 with
an affinity similar to that of ER-
(23, 33). The dramatic
down-regulation of the nuclear ER-
(9) and very low levels of ER-ß
in the infused (deciduoma) or noninfused uterine horns in both the
wild-type and ERKO mice (data not shown) suggest limited participation,
if any, of nuclear ERs in decidualization. This is consistent with the
observation that P4, but not estrogen, is an absolute
requirement for sustained decidualization in rodents (4, 17).
However, it is to be noted that estrogen is essential for the
initiation of implantation in the P4-primed uterus (4).
Because estrogen actions are important for the induction of PR, it is
not clear how PR is induced in the ERKO uterus and mediates
P4 action. It is possible that PR is up-regulated in the
uterus by yet an unidentified mechanism at the onset of decidualization
in the absence of estrogen functions. Indeed, induction of deciduoma
was associated with PR up-regulation in infused horns of both wild-type
and ERKO mice irrespective of the hormone treatments (Figs. 2
and 3
).
These results again suggest that initiation and/or progression of
decidualization, but not ER-
, are perhaps the primary inducers of PR
during this process. This is consistent with the observations of
neutralization of PR functions and deciduoma formation by
anti-P4 antibody, antiprogestins or deletion of PR gene
(11, 13, 14, 17). Alternatively, stromal cell sensitivity to a decidual
stimulus could be initiated by basal levels of uterine PR and minimal
occupancy of PR could be sufficient for decidualization.
COX-2-derived PGs are essential for implantation and decidualization
(7). Because COX-2 is expressed in the decidua in a cell-specific
manner and is induced by application of a deciduogenic stimulus, it
serves as a marker for decidual response (7, 28). Analysis of COX-2
mRNA expression in infused uterine horns of the both wild-type and ERKO
mice demonstrated that this gene was correctly expressed at the
mesometrial pole, confirming deciduoma formation (Fig. 4
, be). Thus,
COX-2 expression is directly associated with decidualization and is
independent of ER-
. Heightened expression of MT-1 in the decidua or
deciduoma at the antimesometrial pole have previously been reported
(21). Thus, an elevated expression of MT-1 mRNA in the oil-infused
uterine horns in the present investigation is consistent with the
previous reports (Fig. 5
).
Collectively, the results of this investigation present an important
concept that estrogen induction of PR in mediating P4
effects via classical ER-
is not essential for the initiation and
progression of decidual cell response in the mouse.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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Received December 3, 1998.
| References |
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deficient
mice reveal a novel estrogen signaling pathway. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94:1278612791
) and estrogen receptor-ß (ERß) messenger
ribonucleic acid in the wild-type and ER
-knockout mouse.
Endocrinology 138:46134621
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