The impact of progesterone and RU-486 on classic pro-labour proteins & contractility in human myometrial tissues during 24-hour exposure to tension & interleukin-1β

Abstract

Increased expression of pro-labour genes that encode cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), oxytocin receptor (OTR) and connexin-43 (Cx43) at parturition is often attributed to P4 functional withdrawal, based on findings from animal models and human primary myometrial cells. However, the cause of reduced myometrial P4 responsiveness that promotes contractions at labour is not fully determined. Uterine stretch occurs with advancing gestation but most in vitro experimental models do not take this into consideration. We aimed to examine whether tissue-level myometrial stretch influences the ability of P4 to regulate pro-labour protein abundance by using myometrial biopsies from term gestation pregnant women to assess the impact of 24 h exposure to combinations of (i) stretch-mediated tension, (ii) P4 (100 nM) and (iii) an anti-progestin, RU-486 (1 μM). Firstly, we observed baseline COX-2 and Cx43 protein levels increased, whereas P4 content along with calponin-1 and progesterone receptor (PR) protein abundance decreased, in vehicle-treated tissues. P4 supplementation subtly reduced COX-2 levels in un-stretched tissues. Spontaneous and oxytocin-augmented contractility were unchanged by tissue culture exposure to P4 and/or RU-486. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β; 1 ng/ml) enhanced COX-2 protein and PGE2 content in un-stretched tissues. Overall, tissue stretch may, in part, regulate P4-sensitive pro-labour protein levels, but this is likely to be reliant on interaction with other in utero factors that were absent in our tissue cultures. More complex culture conditions should be evaluated in future to aid further development of a physiologically relevant model to improve our understanding of in utero myometrial P4 responsiveness.