Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 May:199:105599.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2020.105599. Epub 2020 Jan 25.

Systemic distribution of progesterone receptor subtypes in human tissues

Teeranut Asavasupreechar  1 , Ryoko Saito  1 , Yasuhiro Miki  1 , Dean P Edwards  2 , Viroj Boonyaratanakornkit  3 , Hironobu Sasano  4
Affiliations

Systemic distribution of progesterone receptor subtypes in human tissues

Teeranut Asavasupreechar et al. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2020 May.

Abstract

Progesterone receptor (PR) is expressed in a wide variety of human tissues, including both reproductive and non-reproductive tissues. Upon binding to the PR, progesterone can display several non-reproductive functions, including neurosteroid activity in the central nervous system, inhibition of smooth muscle contractile activity in the gastrointestinal tract, and regulating the development and maturation of the lung. PR exists as two major isoforms, PRA and PRB. Differential expression of these PR isoforms reportedly contributes to different biological activities of the hormone. However, the distribution of the PR isoforms in human tissues has remained virtually unexplored. In this study, we immunolocalized PR expression in various human tissues using PR (1294) specific antibody, which is capable of detecting both PRA and PRB, and PRB (250H11) specific antibody. Tissues from the uterus, ovary, breast, placenta, prostate, testis, cerebrum, cerebellum, pituitary, spinal cord, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, pancreas, liver, kidney, urinary bladder, lung, heart, aorta, thymus, adrenal gland, thyroid, spleen, skin, and bone were examined in four different age groups (fetal, pediatric, young, and old) in male and female subjects. PR and PRB were detected in the nuclei of cells in the female reproductive system, in both the nuclei and cytoplasm of pituitary gland and pancreatic acinar cells, and only in the cytoplasm of cells in the testis, stomach, small intestine, colon, liver, kidney, urinary bladder, lung, adrenal gland, and skin. Of particular interest, total PRB expression overlapped with that of total PR expression in most tissues but was negative in the female fetal reproductive system. The findings indicate that progesterone could affect diverse human organs differently than from reproductive organs. These findings provide new insights into the novel biological roles of progesterone in non-reproductive organs.

Keywords: Human tissues; Progesterone receptor; Progesterone receptor isoform B; Systemic distribution.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest Authors report no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Immunohistochemistry of PR and PRB in human organs.
Panels AL (left) and R (right), uterus was immunostained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels BL and R, the ovary. Panels C, the placenta. Panels DL and R, the breast was stained with PR and PRB staining. Panels EL and R, testis was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels FL and R, the pituitary was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels GL and R, the pancreas was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels HL and R, the stomach was stained with PR and PRB staining, respectively. Panels IL and R, the small intestine was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels JL and R, the colon was stained with PR and PRB staining, respectively. Panels KL and R, the liver was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels LL and R lung were stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels ML and R, the kidney were stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels NL and R, the urinary bladder was stained with PR and PRB staining, respectively. Panels OL and R, the adrenal gland was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels PL and R, the skin was stained with PR and PRB staining, respectively (magnification 400x) Bar: 50 μm.
Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Immunohistochemistry of PR and PRB in human organs.
Panels AL (left) and R (right), uterus was immunostained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels BL and R, the ovary. Panels C, the placenta. Panels DL and R, the breast was stained with PR and PRB staining. Panels EL and R, testis was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels FL and R, the pituitary was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels GL and R, the pancreas was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels HL and R, the stomach was stained with PR and PRB staining, respectively. Panels IL and R, the small intestine was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels JL and R, the colon was stained with PR and PRB staining, respectively. Panels KL and R, the liver was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels LL and R lung were stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels ML and R, the kidney were stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels NL and R, the urinary bladder was stained with PR and PRB staining, respectively. Panels OL and R, the adrenal gland was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels PL and R, the skin was stained with PR and PRB staining, respectively (magnification 400x) Bar: 50 μm.
Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Immunohistochemistry of PR and PRB in human organs.
Panels AL (left) and R (right), uterus was immunostained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels BL and R, the ovary. Panels C, the placenta. Panels DL and R, the breast was stained with PR and PRB staining. Panels EL and R, testis was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels FL and R, the pituitary was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels GL and R, the pancreas was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels HL and R, the stomach was stained with PR and PRB staining, respectively. Panels IL and R, the small intestine was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels JL and R, the colon was stained with PR and PRB staining, respectively. Panels KL and R, the liver was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels LL and R lung were stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels ML and R, the kidney were stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels NL and R, the urinary bladder was stained with PR and PRB staining, respectively. Panels OL and R, the adrenal gland was stained with PR and PRB, respectively. Panels PL and R, the skin was stained with PR and PRB staining, respectively (magnification 400x) Bar: 50 μm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ferenczy A, Bertrand G, Gelfand MM. Proliferation kinetics of human endometrium during the normal menstrual cycle. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology. 1979;133(8):859–67. - PubMed
    1. Michalas S, Loutradis D, Drakakis P, Kallianidis K, Milingos S, Deligeoroglou E, et al. A flexible protocol for the induction of recipient endometrial cycles in an oocyte donation programme. Human reproduction (Oxford, England). 1996;11(5):1063–6. - PubMed
    1. Nosarka S, Kruger T, Siebert I, Grove D. Luteal phase support in in vitro fertilization: meta-analysis of randomized trials. Gynecologic and obstetric investigation. 2005;60(2):67–74. https://doi.org: 10.1159/000084546. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Navot D, Anderson TL, Droesch K, Scott RT, Kreiner D, Rosenwaks Z. Hormonal manipulation of endometrial maturation. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. 1989;68(4):801–7. https://doi.org: 10.1210/jcem-68-4-801. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Park O-K, Mayo KE. Transient expression of progesterone receptor messenger RNA in ovarian granuiosa cells after the preovulatory luteinizing hormone surge. Molecular endocrinology. 1991;5(7):967–78. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms