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Expression of Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptor Type 1 and Type 2 in Human Pregnant Myometrium

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Abstract

It has been suggested that corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) receptors CRH-R1 and CRH-R2 might be involved in the modulation of uterine activity during pregnancy. The authors determine the localization, concentrations, and variants of CRH-R1 and CRH-R2 in the human pregnant myometrium from patients undergoing labor and patients not undergoing labor. Biopsies were taken from 40 patients undergoing either elective or emergency cesarean delivery after spontaneous labor. The localization of CRH-R1 and CRH-R2 was examined by immunohistochemistry. The mRNA and protein levels of CRH-R1 and CRH-R2 were measured by quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot analysis, respectively. The variants of CRH-R1 and CRH-R2 were determined by PCR analysis followed by sequencing. Both CRH-R1 and CRH-R2 were found by immunohistochemistry to be expressed by smooth muscle cells in the pregnant myometrium. There was no significant difference in mRNA and protein levels of CRH-R1 and CRH-R2 in myometria between the labor and nonlabor groups. Levels of CRH-R1 α, R1 β, R1c, R1e, R1f, and R2 α were identified in the pregnant myometrium, and levels of CRH-R1 α, R1c, and R2 α were detected in both the term labor and nonlabor myometrium. A heterogeneous distribution of other CRH-R1 variants in term labor and nonlabor myometrium was observed. Human myometrium expresses both CRH-R1 and CRH-R2 during pregnancy. A heterogeneous distribution of CRH-R1 variants in term labor and nonlabor myometrium might be related to the effects of CRH on contractile phenotype of myometrium at the term.

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Author notes

  1. DJ and PH contributed equally to the article.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Changhai Hospital, Shanghai, PR China

    Dan Jin MD, PhD, Ling Dai MD, MS, Qian He MD, PhD, Chunmin Liu MD, PhD, Ning Hui MD & Jinyan Sha MD

  2. Department of Physiology, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, PR China, 800 Xiangyin Road, 200433

    Ping He MD, MS, Xingji You MS, Xiaoyan Zhu MD, PhD & Xin Ni MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Dan Jin MD, PhD
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  2. Ping He MD, MS
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  3. Xingji You MS
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  4. Xiaoyan Zhu MD, PhD
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  5. Ling Dai MD, MS
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  7. Chunmin Liu MD, PhD
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  10. Xin Ni MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xin Ni MD, PhD.

Additional information

This work is supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (30170982 and. 30571961).

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Jin, D., He, P., You, X. et al. Expression of Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Receptor Type 1 and Type 2 in Human Pregnant Myometrium. Reprod. Sci. 14, 568–577 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719107307821

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719107307821

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