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[The three mechanisms underlying progesterone withdrawal in late pregnancy in mammals.] [Ariticle in Chinese]

GUO Chun-Ming, SUN Gang

School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China

Abstract

Endocrine hormones are important factors in maintaining pregnancy as well as initiation of parturition. Progesterone is themajor hormone maintaining myometrium quiescence, while glucocorticoids, prostaglandins and estrogen are among the major hormonesinvolved in the initiation of parturition. Therefore progesterone withdrawal at the end of pregnancy is the prerequisite for the initiationof parturition. However, unlike most of the other species of mammals that the withdrawal of progesterone is achieved via reduction ofprogesterone synthesis or increased conversion of progesterone to estrogen, some mammals including the primates maintain highprogesterone level throughout gestation and even during parturition. Accumulating lines of evidence indicate that the withdrawal ofprogesterone in human being is attained via the changes of the expression ratio of progesterone receptor subtypes and the changes ofco-activators required for the activation of transcriptional activity of progesterone receptor. Here we reviewed the three majormechanisms, namely luteolysis, upregulation of placental P450c17 hydroxylase and changes of progesterone receptor functions,underlying progesterone withdrawal in late pregnancy in mammals.

Key words: progesterone; progesterone withdrawal; prostaglandins; glucocorticoids; parturition

Received: 2010-03-10　　Accepted: 2010-03-30

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Citing This Article：

GUO Chun-Ming, SUN Gang. [The three mechanisms underlying progesterone withdrawal in late pregnancy in mammals.] [Ariticle in Chinese] . Acta Physiol Sin 2010; 62 (2): 171-178 (in Chinese with English abstract).