Endocrine Abstracts

The molecular and cellular mechanisms within the uterine endometrium regulating menstruation, involve complex interactions between the endocrine, vascular and immune systems. The endometrium is a dynamic tissue that undergoes characteristic changes (proliferation, differentiation and shedding) each menstrual cycle as a consequence of sequential exposure to the ovarian sex steroids. Oestrogen and progesterone, via their cognate receptors regulate the expression of a cascade of ...

Hilary Critchley, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK AbstractHilary Critchley is Professor of Reproductive Medicine (Personal Chair awarded 1999) at the University of Edinburgh and clinical Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh.She graduated in medicine from the University of Manchester. Her research training was undertaken with Professor David Baird (Edin...

During the establishment of pregnancy, the endometrium undergoes dynamic remodelling in order to establish a ‘receptive’ microenvironment. Decidualisation, a key part of this process, is characterised by differentiation of endometrial stromal fibroblasts which secrete factors that regulate implantation and placental development. Recent studies in our laboratory have revealed that decidualisation results in altered expression of enzymes that regulate biosynthesis and ...

Introduction: The human endometrium has a remarkable capacity for repeated repair following the inflammation of menstruation. This occurs without scarring or loss of function but mechanisms involved remain undefined. Aberrations in endometrial repair may lead to pathology such as heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB). The transforming growth factor-β superfamily has been implicated in efficient wound repair and has a potential role in menstrual repair. Downstream of TGF-β, ...

Background: One in five women is obese at antenatal booking. Maternal obesity increases risk of offspring complications including higher birthweight. We hypothesised that this is mediated by altered action of maternal glucocorticoids, key regulators of fetal growth and development. We compared cortisol levels during pregnancy and placental glucocorticoid sensitivity in obese and lean women.Methods: With ethical approval serum cortisol levels were measure...

The oestrogen-receptor related orphan nuclear receptors (ERR) share significant sequence homology with oestrogen receptors (ER) alpha and beta but are unable to bind oestradiol. They are reported to constitutively regulate gene expression by binding to the ER response elements (ERE) or SF1 binding sites (SFRE) in gene promoters. However recent evidence from transgenic animal models point towards a role of these orphan nuclear receptors as regulators of energy-producing metabol...

Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is common and debilitating but it remains a taboo subject. Hence its cause remains undefined, resulting in non-specific hormone therapies with intolerable side effects.Over 70 years ago it was proposed that progesterone withdrawal caused intense vasoconstriction and a transient endometrial hypoxia that resulted in menstruation. Subsequent research confirmed that inflammation initiated menses and disputed the role of hypoxia...

Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is common and debilitating but it remains a taboo subject. Hence its cause remains undefined, resulting in non-specific hormone therapies with intolerable side effects.Over 70 years ago it was proposed that progesterone withdrawal caused intense vasoconstriction and a transient endometrial hypoxia that resulted in menstruation. Subsequent research confirmed that inflammation initiated menses and disputed the role of hypoxia...

Introduction: Oestrogen receptors (ER) are essential for reproductive function and fertility. ER46 is a 46 kDa truncated isoform of full length ERα (ER66) that binds oestradiol (E2) and can signal via nuclear or membrane-initiated signalling pathways. ER46 has been detected in breast cancer cell lines but expression in endometrial tissues has not been documented. The aims of this study were a) to determine whether endometrial cells express ER46, and b) to investigate a po...

The establishment of pregnancy requires dynamic remodelling of the endometrium. Decidualization, a key part of this process, is characterised by differentiation of endometrial stromal fibroblasts (ESF) which secrete factors that regulate implantation and placental development. We recently discovered that ESF synthesise androgens which modulate the expression of endometrial receptivity and decidualization markers. Utilisation of the circulating androgen precursor DHEA within ta...