Journal
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR HISTOLOGY
Volume 39, Issue 5, Pages 535-541Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10735-008-9194-x
Keywords
activin; follistatin; endometrium; estrogen; progestin; rat
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Funding
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq), Brazil
- Ministry of University and Scientific Research (MURST), Italy
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Activin A is a growth factor expressed in the endometrium, where it modulates tissue remodeling and enhances decidualization. The effects of activin A are counteracted by two binding proteins, namely follistatin and follistatin-like 3 (FSTL3). We have evaluated the effects of estrogen and progestin on the endometrial expression of activin beta A subunit, follistatin and FSTL3 in ovariectomized rats. Adult female Wistar rats (n = 21) were ovariectomized and received one week later a single dose of estradiol benzoate (1.5 mg/kg body weight, i.m. injection), either alone (n = 7) or associated with depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (3 mg/kg body weight, i.m. injection, n = 7), or oil vehicle (control group, n = 7). One week later, activin beta A subunit mRNA levels had increased significantly in the uteri of rats treated with estradiol alone (7.4 fold increase over controls, P < 0.05) and to the same extent in rats receiving estradiol plus medroxyprogesterone (6.1 fold increase over controls, P < 0.05). This was accompanied by increase of beta A subunit immunostaining in estradiol and estroprogestin treated rats, which was noted only in the surface endometrial epithelium. Follistatin mRNA expression, conversely, showed a significant decrease in the groups treated with estrogen alone and estrogen plus progestin (P < 0.05), and follistatin immunostaining in the glandular epithelium was weaker in estradiol and estroprogestin-treated rats compared to controls. FSTL3 expression was similar in the 3 groups. In conclusion, the expression of activin beta A subunit increases and that of follistatin decreases following estrogen replacement in the endometrium of ovariectomized rats, and these effects are not further altered by the addition of progestin.
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