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Updated: Mar 18, 2026

An Ex vivo Model to Study Hormone Action in the Human Breast
Published on: January 8, 2015
Membrane progesterone receptors in reproduction and cancer
Paulina Valadez-Cosmes1, Edgar Ricardo Vázquez-Martínez1, Marco Cerbón1
1Unidad de Investigación en Reproducción Humana, Instituto Nacional de Perinatología-Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
Abstract:
Progesterone is a sexual steroid hormone that has a critical role in reproductive processes in males and females of several species, including humans. Furthermore, progesterone has been associated with pathological diseases such as breast, gynecological and brain cancer, regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, and metastasis. In the past, progesterone actions were thought to be only mediated by its intracellular receptor (PR). However, recent evidence has demonstrated that membrane progesterone receptors (mPRs) mediate most of the non-classical progesterone actions. The role of the different mPRs subtypes in progesterone effects in reproduction and cancer is an emerging and exciting research area. Here we review studies to date regarding mPRs role in reproduction and cancer and discuss their functions and clinical relevance, suggesting mPRs as putative pharmacological targets and disease markers in cancer and diseases associated with reproduction.
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