Multiple steroid hormone receptors in normal and abnormal human endometrium

Abstract

The cytoplasmic concentrations of ER, AR, PR, and GR were determined in 124 specimens of normal and abnormal endometrium and other uterine human tissues by the DCC technique. In the endometrial carcinoma group, we observed that pretreatment with MAP leads to low cellularity, higher amount of AR, lower amounts of detectable ER, GR, and PR: the last receptor was almost always absent. A positive correlation between ER presence and tumor grade of differentiation was found in endometrial tumors from hormone-untreated patients. With the value of 142 fmol/mg DNA as the cut off point between high and low binding capacity, the frequency of the single receptors within the hormone-untreated cancer group ranged from 61% to 88%; ER and PR were simultaneously present in 55% of cases (they are tightly correlated in the different biopsies with respect to frequency and amount); ER-AR-PR were present in 45% and all the four receptors in 40% of cases. Slightly higher values were found in normal endometrium collected from hormone-untreated patients.

Inactivation of the human androgen receptor gene is associated with CpG hypermethylation in uterine endometrial cancer

“…We found that 72% of cancer samples that were AR negative showed only methylated AR alleles, whereas all normal tissues showed both unmethylated and methylated alleles. According to other reports, 30±80% of UEC cases are AR negative [21,22]. These percentages are similar to our results.…”

Effect of levonorgestrel and mifepristone on endometrial receptivity markers in a three-dimensional human endometrial cell culture model

“…Studies have shown that there is an increase in androgens during the menstrual cycle and early pregnancy, and AR is present in the endometrium (11,(28)(29)(30)(31). However, less is understood about the role of AR in the human endometrial receptivity compared with ERs and PRs.…”

Elevated Endometrial Androgen Receptor Expression in Women with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome1

“…Expression of AR has been detected in endometrium from normal women and from woman with endometriosis [10][11][12][13][14]. Some studies have reported relatively constant expression of AR throughout the cycle [12]; other studies have documented variation in endometrial AR, with increased expression during the proliferative phase [13,14].…”