Antiprogesterone and antiglucocorticoid actions of RU 486 on rabbit mammary gland explant cultures. Evidence for a persistent inhibitory action of residual progesterone upon the mammary tissue

The inhibitory effect of progesterone on lactogenesis during pregnancy is already evident by mid- to late gestation in rodents

Lactogenesis is a very complex process highly dependent on hormonal regulation. In the present study the time-course of the inhibitory actions of progesterone on prolactin secretion, mammary gland morphology and lactogenesis from mid- to late gestation in rodents was investigated. Groups of pregnant rats were luteectomised or administered with mifepristone on Day 10, 13, 15 or 17 of gestation and decapitated 28 or 48 h later. Whole-blood samples and the inguinal mammary glands were taken for determinations of hormone levels and for measurement of mammary content of casein and lactose and for tissue morphology analyses, respectively. Luteectomy or mifepristone evoked prolactin increases only after Day 17 of gestation. Mammary content of casein was increased by both treatments regardless of timing or duration. Mifepristone was less effective than luteectomy in inducing lactose production and the effect was only observed after Day 15 of gestation. Analysis of mammary gland morphology confirmed the observed effect of progesterone on lactogenesis. Both treatments triggered remarkable secretory activity in the mammary gland, even without a parallel epithelial proliferation, demonstrating that the mammary epithelium is able to synthesise milk compounds long before its full lobulo–alveolar development is achieved, provided that progesterone action is abolished. Thus, the present study demonstrates that progesterone is a potent hormonal switch for the prolactin and prolactin-like effects on mammary gland development and its milk-synthesising capacity during pregnancy, and that its inhibitory action is already evident by mid-pregnancy in rodents.

Estradiol implants in the arcuate nucleus induce lactogenesis in virgin rats. Role of progesterone

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the centrally administered estradiol, and the effects of the consequent hypersecretion of prolactin (PRL) and progesterone, on lactogenesis as evaluated by mammary accumulation of casein and lactose. Bilateral cannulae containing 17beta-estradiol or cholesterol were implanted in the arcuate nucleus of virgin rats on the day of estrus (Day 0). In the first experiment different groups of rats were killed on Days 6, 9, 15, 17, or 19. Trunk blood was collected and abdominal mammary glands were taken. In the second experiment, estradiol-implanted rats received the progesterone antagonist mifepristone or vehicle at 14.00 h on Day 8 or 16 post-implant, and were killed 28 or 48 h later. Serum PRL and progesterone and mammary casein were measured by RIA and lactose was determined by an enzymatic assay. Estradiol-implanted rats showed a significant increase in both milk components at all time points after implant compared to controls. On Day 9 after estradiol implant, mifepristone had no effect on mammary content of casein or lactose. By contrast, on Day 16, mifepristone markedly increased both casein and lactose contents without modifying serum PRL and progesterone concentrations. In conclusion, 17beta-estradiol implants in the arcuate nucleus of virgin rats results in hyperprolactinaemia and stimulates mammary accumulation of casein and lactose in the absence of feto-placental units. Despite the prolonged luteal activation, the sustained high levels of circulating progesterone become inhibitory to lactogenesis after a relatively long period after implant.

Sleep-endocrine effects of mifepristone and megestrol acetate in healthy men

Administration of steroid hormones was demonstrated to modulate the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) and sleep-associated hormonal secretion in specific ways. The present study was conducted to compare the effects of mifepristone (Mif), a mixed glucocorticoid (GR) and progesterone receptor (PR) antagonist, and megestrol acetate (Meg), a PR agonist. Nine healthy men were pretreated with either placebo or 200 mg Mif or 320 mg Meg, or a combination of both. Changes in plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, and growth hormone concentrations were registered every 30 min; sleep EEG recordings were obtained continuously. Administration of Mif increased the morning plasma ACTH and cortisol surges, whereas Meg had the opposite effect. Growth hormone secretion was lowered by Mif pretreatment and enhanced by Meg. Simultaneous administration of both compounds led to largely compensated effects. The sleep EEG changes induced by Mif were a slight increase in the time awake and a delayed onset of slow-wave sleep. Meg led to a reduction of rapid-eye-movement sleep. Simultaneous administration of Mif and Meg showed a synergism in increasing time awake and shallow sleep: it therefore may be concluded that the sleep EEG effects are mediated by an interaction of GR and PR in unknown mechanisms.

Cortisol blockade of progesterone: a possible molecular mechanism involved in the initiation of human labor

In most mammals, labor is heralded by progesterone withdrawal, which is believed to be related to the activation of multiple pathways leading to parturition. In humans, despite no decrease in placental progesterone production, activation of similar pathways preceding labor suggests the presence of an endogenous antiprogestin, which we reasoned might be cortisol, whose secretion from the fetal adrenal rises markedly at the end of human gestation. We report that in primary cultures of human placenta, cortisol is able to compete with the action of progesterone in the regulation of the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) gene. CRH is a peptide highly expressed in human placenta at the end of gestation, which has been suggested to be involved in regulating the timing of parturition. These findings provide a model for functional progesterone withdrawal at the end of human pregnancy, which may be involved in the initiation of labor.

Activity of progesterone and anti-progestins in a rat mammary primary cell culture system

A primary culture system of virgin rat mammary epithelial cells, grown in a serum-free medium, was developed as a means of assaying the efficacy of compounds with known anti-progestational properties. Cells were grown in 24-well plates on hydrated collagen gels and could be cultured for at least seven days. Experiments were routinely stopped three days after overnight attachment of cells using fibronectin (4 micrograms/ml). DNA synthesis, measured by thymidine incorporation, was significantly increased by the addition of ovine prolactin (43 nM; P < 0.01) or progesterone (0.15 microM; P < 0.05) or both (P < 0.01) to the basal medium. When added to medium containing progesterone plus prolactin (complete medium), RU486 (mifepristone) and ZK98734 (lilopristone) significantly depressed DNA synthesis in a dose-dependent manner using doses ranging from 0.015 microM to 15 microM. Maximum inhibition was achieved at 15 microM for both compounds. DNA synthesis was 24.5 +/- 2.6% (mean +/- SEM, n = 4) and 32.0 +/- 2.2% (n = 3) of that in complete medium for RU486 and ZK98734, respectively (both P < 0.001). There was no inhibitory effect of either compound in basal medium or basal medium plus prolactin, indicating the absence of toxicity and that the inhibitory effect is specific for a progesterone-mediated process.

Low dose RU486 prevents progesterone antagonism on uterine growth and concomitant type II oestradiol binding induction by oestradiol in rats

The effect of RU486, a synthetic antisteroid, on the antagonism of progesterone (Pg) and dexamethasone (Dex) against oestradiol (Oe) induced uterine growth, and on uterine oestradiol binding (type I and type II sites) was studied in ovariectomized CFY rats. Changes of hypothalamic low affinity [3H]Oe binding have also been evaluated. Inhibitory effects of Pg but not of Dex on uterine growth and type II Oe binding site induction were prevented by RU486. Antiprogestin effect of RU486 could also be demonstrated on low affinity [3H]Oe binding in hypothalami. The inhibitory effect of dexamethasone on type II Oe binding was not opposed by antisteroid, on the contrary, RU486 seemed to potentiate this effect of Dex. Evaluation of type I binding was complicated by the distorting effect of type II binding at the saturation curve. Changes of type I binding seemed to parallel those of type II binding except after Oe+Dex treatment where an increased level of uterine cytoplasmic type I sites and a simultaneous decrease of type II sites were found. Blockage of [3H]Oe binding at high RU486 concentrations was found in vitro in the uterine cytoplasmic fraction. A less pronounced effect was observed in the nuclear fraction. Possible mechanisms of the RU486 effect on type II Oe binding are discussed.

Inhibition of casein synthesis by progestagens in vitro: modulation in relation to concentration of hormones that synergize with prolactin

We studied the effect of progesterone and its agonist, R 5020, on casein and transferrin production in pregnant rabbit mammary gland explant culture and its modulation by hormones that synergize with prolactin. The glands were obtained from rabbits on days 12-14 of gestation. The progestins had no effect alone, but significantly inhibited ovine and porcine prolactin stimulation of casein synthesis in a dose dependent manner. There were no effects on transferrin content of the tissue, demonstrating a specific effect of progesterone on casein synthesis. In approx 15% of the cultures, prolactin stimulated casein production to very high levels and the progestins lost their inhibitory action. Progestins were also ineffective when the tissue was cultured with prolactin and unphysiologically high levels of insulin (5 mg/l) or cortisol (280 nmol/l), which stimulated casein synthesis to higher levels than prolactin alone. The concentration of cortisol used was 10 times higher than the serum levels seen in rabbits at the stage of gestation studied (approx 10 ng/ml) and corresponded to levels seen at the end of gestation, a period when the glands are secreting milk and progesterone serum levels have commenced to decrease. Thus, when the prolactin effect upon casein synthesis had been potentiated, whether spontaneously or through synergism with insulin or corticoids, progestins were unable to inhibit it, as is the case in lactating tissues. The results show that utilization of unphysiological levels of hormones in culture may distort the response of the tissue, masking responses that are clearly seen in vivo.