Jones Rebecca L, Findlay Jock K, Salamonsen Lois A
Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2006 Jun;46(3):245-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1479-828X.2006.00581.x.
Decidualisation of the endometrial stroma is critical to create a specialised environment for embryo implantation and trophoblast invasion; however, the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. We have established that activin A is an important regulator of decidualisation of endometrial stromal cells in vitro. Here we describe studies that verify the physiological significance of these findings. We demonstrate that high concentrations of activin A are produced by decidualising cells in excess of the antagonists, inhibin and follistatin, thus confirming its bioavailability within the decidual environment. Furthermore, we demonstrate that all components of the activin signalling pathway (activin receptors and Smads) are expressed in decidualised cells, and identify a downstream mechanism for activin in the endometrium, through the regulation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). This new knowledge is important for understanding the roles for activins and inhibins in regulating fertility.
子宫内膜基质的蜕膜化对于为胚胎着床和滋养层细胞侵入创造一个特殊环境至关重要；然而，其中涉及的机制却知之甚少。我们已经证实，激活素A是体外子宫内膜基质细胞蜕膜化的重要调节因子。在此，我们描述了验证这些发现生理意义的研究。我们证明，蜕膜化细胞产生的高浓度激活素A超过了拮抗剂抑制素和卵泡抑素，从而证实了其在蜕膜环境中的生物可利用性。此外，我们证明激活素信号通路的所有成分（激活素受体和Smads）均在蜕膜化细胞中表达，并通过调节基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）确定了激活素在子宫内膜中的下游机制。这一新知识对于理解激活素和抑制素在调节生育中的作用很重要。
