Inhibition of apoptosis by progesterone in cardiomyocytes.

ABSTRACT: While gender-based differences in heart disease have raised the possibility that estrogen (ES) or progesterone (PG) may have cardioprotective effects, recent controversy regarding hormone replacement therapy has questioned the cardiac effects of these steroids. Using cardiomyocytes, we tested whether ES or PG has protective effects at the cellular level. We found that PG but not ES protects cardiomyocytes from apoptotic cell death induced by doxorubicin (Dox). PG inhibited apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner, by 12 ± 4.0% at 1 μm and 60 ± 1.0% at 10 μm. The anti-apoptotic effect of PG was also time dependent, causing 18 ± 5% or 62 + 2% decrease in caspase-3 activity within 1 h or 72 h of pretreatment. While PG causes nuclear translocation of its receptor within 20 min, the cytoprotective

SUBMITTER: Morrissy S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4133411 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature