Bachelot Anne, Binart Nadine
Inserm U 584 Hormone Targets, Faculty of Medicine René Descartes, 75730 Paris Cedex 15, France.
Curr Top Dev Biol. 2005;68:49-84. doi: 10.1016/S0070-2153(05)68003-9.
The corpus luteum is a transient endocrine gland that produces essentially progesterone, a required product for the establishment and maintenance of early pregnancy. In the absence of pregnancy, the corpus luteum will cease to produce progesterone, and the structure itself will regress in size over time. The life span and function of the corpus luteum is regulated by complex interactions between stimulatory (luteotrophic) and inhibitory (luteolytic) mediators. Although the process of luteal formation and regression has been studied for several decades, many of the regulatory mechanisms involved in loss of function and involution of the structure are incompletely understood. In rodents, prolactin is the major luteotrophic hormone by maintaining the structural and functional integrity of the corpus luteum for several days after mating. Other factors involved in steroidogenesis, control of cell cycle, apoptosis, and tissue remodeling have been shown to play a role in corpus luteum development and maintenance. Especially, PGF2alpha seems to be the most potent luteolytic hormone. One of the most important advances in the study of mammalian genes has been the development of techniques to obtain defined mutations in mice. These tools enable us to target specific genes and to analyze the impact of their loss on cell fate and function. With these approaches, several receptors, transcription factors, enzymes, and other factors have been linked to corpus luteum development and maintenance. These models are helping to define mechanisms of reproductive function and to identify potential new contraceptive targets and genes involved in the pathophysiology of reproductive disorders.
黄体是一种临时性内分泌腺，主要分泌孕酮，这是早期妊娠建立和维持所必需的产物。如果没有妊娠，黄体将停止分泌孕酮，其结构本身也会随着时间的推移而缩小。黄体的寿命和功能受刺激性（促黄体生成）和抑制性（溶黄体）介质之间复杂相互作用的调节。尽管黄体形成和退化的过程已经研究了几十年，但许多参与黄体功能丧失和结构退化的调节机制仍未完全了解。在啮齿动物中，催乳素是主要的促黄体生成激素，在交配后维持黄体的结构和功能完整性达数天之久。其他参与类固醇生成、细胞周期控制、细胞凋亡和组织重塑的因素也已证明在黄体发育和维持中发挥作用。特别是，前列腺素F2α似乎是最有效的溶黄体激素。哺乳动物基因研究中最重要的进展之一是开发了在小鼠中获得特定突变的技术。这些工具使我们能够靶向特定基因，并分析其缺失对细胞命运和功能的影响。通过这些方法，已经将几种受体、转录因子、酶和其他因素与黄体发育和维持联系起来。这些模型有助于确定生殖功能的机制，并识别潜在的新避孕靶点以及参与生殖障碍病理生理学的基因。
