Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, PF601103, 10252 Berlin, Germany.
J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2012 Nov;132(3-5):295-302. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2012.07.005. Epub 2012 Jul 31.
Ovarian and placental steroids are essential for the maintenance of pregnancy. In some mammals it is evident that the placenta is responsible for the production of steroids. However, in the domestic cat, steroid secretion from the placenta has not yet been elucidated. Our study aimed to find out whether feline placentae are able to produce steroids. Placentae from different pregnancy stages were analyzed for mRNA expression of five steroidogenic enzymes (HSD3B1, CYP11A1, CYP17A1, HSD17B1 and CYP19A1) and for tissue concentrations of progesterone and estradiol. Steroidogenic enzymes responsible for the final steps of estradiol (CYP19A1) and progesterone synthesis (HSD3B) were expressed at very high levels and followed almost the same pattern over pregnancy as the intraplacental hormones themselves. By contrast, the other enzymes were found in very low quantities suggesting that biosynthesis occurs via extra-placental steroid precursors. The plasma steroid profiles measured by other groups differ from the placental hormone courses determined by us; therefore we conclude that the feline placenta can produce progesterone and estradiol.
卵巢和胎盘类固醇对于维持妊娠至关重要。在一些哺乳动物中，显然胎盘负责类固醇的产生。然而，在家猫中，胎盘的类固醇分泌尚未阐明。我们的研究旨在了解胎盘中是否能够产生类固醇。分析了不同妊娠阶段的胎盘中 5 种类固醇生成酶（HSD3B1、CYP11A1、CYP17A1、HSD17B1 和 CYP19A1）的 mRNA 表达以及孕酮和雌二醇的组织浓度。负责雌二醇（CYP19A1）和孕酮合成（HSD3B）最后步骤的类固醇生成酶表达水平非常高，并且在妊娠过程中与胎盘内激素本身的表达模式几乎相同。相比之下，其他酶的含量非常低，这表明生物合成是通过胎盘外类固醇前体发生的。其他组测量的血浆类固醇谱与我们确定的胎盘激素过程不同；因此，我们得出结论，猫胎盘可以产生孕酮和雌二醇。
