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Subgroup of reproductive functions of progesterone mediated by progesterone receptor-B isoform
B Mulac-Jericevic1, R A Mullinax, F J DeMayo
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Abstract:
Progesterone regulates reproductive function through two intracellular receptors, progesterone receptor-A (PR-A) and progesterone receptor-B (PR-B), that arise from a single gene and function as transcriptional regulators of progesterone-responsive genes. Although in vitro studies show that PR isoforms can display different transcriptional regulatory activities, their physiological significance is unknown. By selective ablation of PR-A in mice, we show that the PR-B isoform modulates a subset of reproductive functions of progesterone by regulation of a subset of progesterone-responsive target genes. Thus, PR-A and PR-B are functionally distinct mediators of progesterone action in vivo and should provide suitable targets for generation of tissue-selective progestins.
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