Is maternal progesterone actually independent of the fetal steroids?

Title:

Is maternal progesterone actually independent of the fetal steroids?

Creator:

Martin Hill, Antonín Pařízek, Jan Evangelista Jirásek, Marie Jirkovská, Velíková, M., Michaela Dušková, Klímková, M., Andrea Pašková, Zdeněk Žižka, Alexandra Moravská, Michal Koucký, Marta Kalousová, and Luboslav Stárka

Identifier:

https://cdk.lib.cas.cz/client/handle/uuid:8011a840-5b30-48f0-81fb-929b3d106d47
uuid:8011a840-5b30-48f0-81fb-929b3d106d47

Subject:

Fyziologie člověka a srovnávací fyziologie, steroidy, progesteron, práce, steroids, progesterone, labor, 20α-dihydroprogesterone, plasma, metabolome, GC-MS, 14, and 612

Type:

article, články, model:article, and TEXT

Format:

print

Description:

a1_Progesterone and estradiol are the foremost steroid hormones in human pregnancy. However, the origin of maternal progesterone has still not been satisfactorily explained, despite the generally accepted opinion that maternal LDL-cholesterol is a single substrate for placental synthesis of maternal progesterone. The question remains why the levels of progesterone are substantially higher in fetal as opposed to maternal blood. Hence, the role of the fetal zone of fetal adrenal (FZFA) in the synthesis of progesterone precursors was addressed. The FZFA may be directly regulated by placental CRH inducing an excessive production of sulfated 3β-hydroxy-5-ene steroids such as sulfates of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEAS) and pregnenolone (PregS). Due to their excellent solubility in plasma these conjugates are easily transported in excessive amounts to the placenta for further conversion to the sex hormones. While the significance of C19 3β-hydroxy-5-ene steroid sulfates originating in FZFA for placental estrogen formation is mostly recognized, the question “Which maternal and/or fetal functions may be served by excessive production of PregS in the FZFA?“ - still remains open. Our hypothesis is that, besides the necessity to synthesize de novo all the maternal progesterone from cholesterol, it may be more convenient to utilize the fetal PregS. The activities of sulfatase and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) are substantially higher than the activity of cytochrome P450scc, which is rate-limiting for the placental progesterone synthesis from LDL-cholesterol. However, as in the case of progesterone synthesis from maternal LDL-cholesterol, the relative independence of progesterone levels on FZFA activity may be a consequence of substrate saturation of enzymes converting PregS to progesterone., a2_Some of the literature along with our current data (showing no correlation between fetal and maternal progesterone but significant partial correlations between fetal and maternal 20α-dihydroprogesterone (Prog20α) and between Prog20α and progesterone within the maternal blood) indicate that the localization of individual types of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase is responsible for a higher proportion of estrone and progesterone in the fetus, but also a higher proportion of estradiol and Prog20α in maternal blood. Type 2 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17HSD2), which oxidizes estradiol to estrone and Prog20α to progesterone, is highly expressed in placental endothelial cells lining the fetal compartment. Alternatively, syncytium, which is directly in contact with maternal blood, produces high amounts of estradiol and Prog20α due to the effects of type 1, 5 and 7 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (17HSD1, 17HSD5, and 17HSD7, respectively). The proposed mechanisms may serve the following functions: 1) providing substances which may influence the placental production of progesterone and synthesis of neuroprotective steroids in the fetus; and 2) creating hormonal milieu enabling control of the onset of labor., M. Hill ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy

Language:

English

Rights:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
policy:public

Source:

Physiological research | 2010 Volume:59 | Number:2

Harvested from:

CDK

Metadata only:

false