Oxytocin receptor gene expression of estrogen-stimulated human myometrium in extracorporeally perfused non-pregnant uteri

Mar 27, 2004Molecular human reproduction

Estrogen increases oxytocin receptor gene activity in the muscle layer of non-pregnant human wombs outside the body

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Abstract

Stimulation with both estrogen and oxytocin resulted in significantly higher oxytocin receptor gene expression compared to oxytocin alone.

Oxytocin and its receptor appear less critical for uterine contractility disorders in non-pregnant uteri than in pregnant ones.
Fifteen human uteri were perfused under physiological conditions with and without estrogen stimulation to assess receptor dynamics.
The presence of estrogen alongside oxytocin stimulation increased oxytocin receptor gene expression in the myometrium.
Oxytocin receptor transcript levels were found to be higher in the upper part of the uterus compared to the lower segment.
Maximum levels of oxytocin receptors in the upper uterus during stimulation did not match those observed in third-trimester pregnancies.

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Oxytocin (OT) and the oxytocin receptor (OTR) seem to be less important for uterine contractility-associated disorders of the non-pregnant uterus compared to the pregnant uterus. In the present study, we investigated the mutual dependence of OTR, OT and 17beta-estradiol (E(2)) with regard to the localization of OTR in the non-pregnant uterus. Utilizing our established model for extracorporeal perfusion of the human uterus, we perfused 15 human uteri for 27 h under physiological conditions without oestradiol (group A, n = 5) or with high E(2) stimulation (group B, n = 5) followed by OT stimulation for both groups during the last 3 h of the experiment. Negative controls (n = 5) remained in perfusions for 27 h without any further hormone treatment. Gene expression of the myometrial OTR in both groups was compared using reverse transcriptase triple primer PCR. Stimulation with E(2) and OT led to significantly higher OTR gene expression than stimulation with OT alone. We also showed that concentrations of OTR transcripts increase from the lower uterine segment to the uterine fundus. However, maximum OTR levels of the uterine fundus in group B did not reach concentrations of specimens of third trimester of pregnancy which were used as positive controls. We conclude that our experimental model simulates a situation similiarly to the stimulated non-pregnant uterus in the therapeutic concepts of assisted reproduction. The data presented demonstrate that the dynamics of OTR expression can be modulated by stimulation with E(2) and OT, not only in the pregnant but also in the non-pregnant uterus.

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Oxytocin receptor gene expression of estrogen-stimulated human myometrium in extracorporeally perfused non-pregnant uteri

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