Studies On The Effects Of PGE₂ Receptors Agonist On The Expression Of Bovine Endometrial Growth Factors And Cell Proliferation

The mammalian endometrium undergoes regular periods of injury and repair with a remarkable capacity for self-repair. The mechanism of this process still remains unclear. The positive correlation between endometrial repair and prostaglandinE2 (PGE2) secretion had been demonstrated. Therefore, we sought to define the roles of PGE2 in endometrial self-repair. To address this question, we first must determine whether PGE2 could regulate the expression of the growth factors that related to tissue growth in the endometrium. Four PGE2 receptors have been identified, EP1, EP2, EP3 and EP4. In this study, the responses of some endometrial growth factors to EP1/EP3 and EP2 activation in bovine endometrial explants were investigated. Using real-time RT-PCR and western blotting, we determined that the mRNA and protein expression levels of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), mucin-1 (MUC-1), transforming growth factor β-1 (TGFβ-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were increased (P<0.05), and cell proliferation was induced in response to the increased proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and fibroblast specific protein 1 (FSP-1) expression levels (P<0.05) detected using western blotting and double-labeled immunofluorescence assays. These results help define the roles of the PGE2-EP1/EP3 and EP2 signaling pathway in endometrial repair and might provide a new mechanism for endometrial self-repair.