Effects of 17β-estradiol and progesterone on mitogen-activated protein kinase expression and activity in rat uterine smooth muscle

Abstract

Activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) is a critical event in mitogenic signal transduction. MAPKs are activated by tyrosine phosphorylation and translocate to different cellular compartments affecting protein function and gene expression. MAPK expression and activity was examined in uterine smooth muscle from rats pretreated with estradiol-17β alone or with estradiol-17β and progesterone. MAPK expression was detected by immunoblotting using erk 1 2 antibodies. MAPK activity was detected by measurement of the phosphorylation of a MAPK-specific peptide sequence of myelin basic protein. Steroid treatment caused a modest (20%) decline in erk 1 and 2 expression in membrane and cytosolic fractions. Both estrogen and progesterone increased MAPK tyrosine phosphorylation and membrane-associated MAPK activity. Steroid treatment increased cytosolic MAPK tyrosine phosphorylation, but not enzymatic activity. These data suggest that gonadal steroid hormones, which stimulate uterine hypertrophy, may exert their hypertrophic effects by increasing MAPK activity.