The CCAAT/enhancer binding protein beta is a critical regulator of steroid-induced mitotic expansion of uterine stromal cells during decidualization.

ABSTRACT: During early pregnancy, the concerted actions of the maternal steroid hormones, estrogen and progesterone, promote a unique process known as decidualization, which involves extensive proliferation and differentiation of uterine stromal cells. The molecular pathways underlying this hormonally induced cellular transformation, an essential prerequisite for embryo implantation, remain poorly understood. We previously identified CCAAT/enhancer binding protein beta (C/EBPbeta) as a target of steroid regulation in the uterus. Uteri of mice lacking C/EBPbeta failed to undergo decidualization. In the present study, analyses of C/EBPbeta-null uteri indicated that loss of this factor leads to a block in stromal cell proliferation in response to a decidual stimulation. The mutant stromal cells entered

SUBMITTER: Wang W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2940513 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature