Article published by the Endocrine Society Article published by the Endocrine Society

Recent clinical trials on ovarian cancer with mifepristone (MF) have failed, despite in vitro findings on its strong progesterone (P4) antagonist function. Ovarian cancer human and murine cell lines, cultured high-grade human primary epithelial ovarian cancer (HG-hOEC) cells and their explants; as well as in vivo transgenic mice possessing ovarian cancer were used to assess the molecular mechanism underlying mifepristone (MF) agonistic actions in ovarian cancer progression. Herein, we show that ovarian cancer cells express traceable/no nuclear P4 receptor (PGR), but abundantly P4 receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1). MF significantly stimulated ovarian cancer cell migration, proliferation and growth in vivo, and the translocation of PGRMC1 into the nucleus of cancer cells; the effects inhibited by PGRMC1 inhibitor. The beneficial antitumor effect of high-doses MF could not be achieved in human cancer tissue, and the low tissue concentrations achieved with the therapeutic doses only promoted the growth of ovarian cancers. Our results indicate that treatment of ovarian cancer with MF and P4 may induce similar adverse agonistic effects in the absence of classical nuclear PGRs in ovarian cancer. The blockage of PGRMC1 activity may provide a novel treatment strategy for ovarian cancer. FUND: This work was supported by grants from the National Science Centre, Poland (2013/09/N/NZ5/01831 to DP-T; 2012/05/B/NZ5/01867 to MC), Academy of Finland (254366 to NAR), Moikoinen Cancer Research Foundation (to NAR) and EU PARP Cluster grant (UDA-POIG.05.01.00-005/12-00/NCREMFP to SW).

Adenomyosis is a common gynaecological disease associated with the presence of endometrial lesions in the uterine myometrium. Estrogens have been proven to be the crucial hormones driving the growth of adenomyosis. Little is known about the distinct mechanisms of progesterone action in adenomyosis. Hence, in this study, we decided to characterize the expression of all nuclear and membrane estrogen and progesterone receptors. Additionally, as a functional investigation, we monitored prolactin production and cell proliferation after estradiol and progesterone treatments. We confirmed the presence of all nuclear and membrane estrogen and progesterone receptors in adenomyotic lesions at gene and protein levels. The expression of membrane progesterone receptors α and β (mPRα, mPRβ) as well as estrogen receptor β (ERβ) was upregulated in adenomyosis compared to normal myometrium. Estradiol significantly increased adenomyotic cell proliferation. Progesterone and cAMP upregulated prolactin secretion in adenomyosis in the same pattern as in the normal endometrium. In the present study, we showed the functional link between estradiol action and adenomyotic cell proliferation, as well as progesterone and prolactin production. Our findings provide novel insights into the sex steroid receptor expression pattern and potential regulated pathways in adenomyosis, suggesting that all receptors play an important role in adenomyosis pathophysiology.

Bisphenol A (BPA), the most common endocrine-disrupting chemical, has been associated with male reproductive dysfunctions. Recently, it has been shown that BPA may also affect miRNAs expression. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the association of BPA levels with steroid hormone concentration and circulating miRNAs levels to investigate the potential direct effect of BPA on homeostasis in the testis environment. The level of BPA in the seminal plasma of azoospermic men was significantly higher compared to the healthy control. The concentrations of estradiol (E2) and androstenedione (A) were significantly decreased in the seminal plasma of azoospermic men compared to the normospermic men. The levels of miR-let-7a, miR-let-7b, and miR-let-7c were significantly up-regulated, and the level of miR-518f was significantly down-regulated in the seminal plasma of the azoospermic men compared to the healthy control. The level of BPA correlated negatively with sperm concentration and normal semen morphology. A significant positive correlation was found between BPA levels and miR-let-7a and miR-let-7c levels, whereas BPA negatively correlated with miR-518f levels. Our results suggest that BPA may negatively affect sperm quality. Moreover, BPA correlated with the miR-let-7a, miR-let-7c, and miR-518f levels in seminal plasma, which suggests that BPA may act directly in seminal plasma, affecting the testicular environment.

In the luteal phase, human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) undergo proliferation, migration and differentiation during the decidualization process under the control of the ovarian steroids progesterone and estrogen. Proper decidualization of stromal cells is required for blastocyst implantation and the development of pregnancy. The proliferation, migration and differentiation of HESCs in decidualization do not require the presence of a blastocyst but are greatly accelerated during implantation. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) are potent bioactive lysophospholipids that have critical roles in various physiological and pathophysiological processes, including inflammation, angiogenesis and cancer. The expression of the enzymes involved in LPA and S1P turnover and their receptors in HESCs during decidualization has not been characterized yet. We found that the LPAR₁ and LPAR₆ and S1PR₃ receptors are highly expressed in HESCs. LPAR₁, autotaxin (ATX), an LPA producing enzyme and lipid phosphate phosphatase 3 were up-regulated during decidualization. Interestingly, the expression of all S1P receptor subtypes and LPA receptors (LPAR_2-6) mRNA was down-regulated after decidualization. We found that SPHK1 is highly expressed in HESCs, and is up-regulated during decidualization. S1P phosphatase SGPP1 and S1P lyase SGPL1 are highly expressed in HESCs. SGPP1 mRNA expression was significantly up-regulated in decidualized HESCs. In conclusion, this study shows the first time that specific LPA and S1P receptors and their metabolizing enzymes are highly regulated in HESCs during decidualization. Furthermore, we suggest that LPAR₁ receptor-mediated signaling in HESCs may be crucial in decidualization process. SPHK1 activity and high turnover of S1P and LPA might be essential for precise regulation of their signaling during decidualization of human endometrium and implantation.