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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Isolation of Human Endometrial Stromal Cells for In Vitro Decidualization
Published on: September 1, 2018
Human decidual cell Toll-like receptor signaling in response to endotoxin: the effect of progestins
Hyagriv N Simhan1, Jye-Ping Chiao, Donald R Mattison
1Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Magee-Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to determine whether progesterone, 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, and 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate modulate the Toll-like receptor (TLR) pathway in the response of decidua to lipopolysaccharide.
Study Design:
Cultured human decidual cells were incubated under control conditions, lipopolysaccharide alone, or pretreatment with each of the 3 progestins. Relative expression of 113 genes in the TLR pathway was determined by microarray.
Results:
We failed to demonstrate a suppression of TLR gene pathway expression in human decidual cells in response to lipopolysaccharide when the cells are pretreated with progestins. Pretreatment with each progestin before lipopolysaccharide resulted in a relative increase in the expression of the proapoptotic molecule, CASP8. There were no differences among the progestins.
Conclusion:
Our data do not support suppression of TLR pathways as a mechanism for the benefit of 17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate. Increased CASP8 gene expression raises the possibility that progestins "prime" the decidual cell to respond with a NFkappaB-mediated inflammatory response.
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