Progesterone is a critical hormone for the maintenance of pregnancy, menstrual cycle, endometrium and functions with its receptor [1].
Progesterone plays an important role in establishing uterine receptivity for embryo implantation. Cooperated with nuclear progesterone receptor, progesterone could damper the action(s) of E2 and BPA on Egr1 expression [2]. When tested with mouse melanoma (B16F10) cells and human melanoma (BLM) cells, progesterone treatment could significantly inhibit mouse melanoma cell growth [3]. In MCF-7 cells, progesterone activated GLI-1 in RANKL dependent manner to regulate estrogen-induced mammary carcinogenesis [4].
When tested with rats (pretreated subcutaneous progesterone or peanut oil for 5 days beginning on pregnancy day 17 and control ones), progesterone (400 and 500 μg per day) treatment enhanced maternal behavior inhibited by opioidergic [1].
Progesterone also has been shown to exhibit neuroprotective effects via modulating the phosphorylation of Akt which plays pivotal role in promoting cell growth in the brain. To assess the effects of progesterone on Akt phosphorylation, when tested with closed-skull traumatic brain injury C57BL/6 mice, after progesterone treatment phosphorylation of Akt in hippocampus increased compared to traumatic brain injury vehicle [5]. When tested with female rats, progesterone treatment asymmetricly modulated the expression of GABA (A) receptor α4 subunit in the olfactory bulb [6].
References:
[1]. Cruz, A.M., M.H. Sukikara, and F.F. L, Late pregnancy progesterone treatment as a modulatory signal for postpartum behavior. Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 2014. 27(14): p. 00348-7.
[2]. Kim, H.R., et al., Egr1 is rapidly and transiently induced by estrogen and bisphenol A via activation of nuclear estrogen receptor-dependent ERK1/2 pathway in the uterus. Reprod Toxicol, 2014. 50: p. 60-7.
[3]. Ramaraj, P. and J.L. Cox, In vitro effect of progesterone on human melanoma (BLM) cell growth. Int J Clin Exp Med, 2014. 7(11): p. 3941-53.
[4]. Boopalan, T., et al., RANKL signaling promotes progesterone mediated estrogen induced mammary carcinogenesis. Cancer Sci, 2014. 21(10): p. 12571.
[5]. Garling, R.J., et al., Does progesterone show neuroprotective effects on traumatic brain injury through increasing phosphorylation of Akt in the hippocampus? Neural Regen Res, 2014. 9(21): p. 1891-6.
[6]. Arbo, B.D., et al., Asymmetric effects of low doses of progesterone on GABA(A) receptor alpha4 subunit protein expression in the olfactory bulb of female rats. Can J Physiol Pharmacol, 2014. 92(12): p. 1045-9.