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Palomba S, Piltonen TT, Giudice LC. Endometrial function in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a comprehensive review. Hum Reprod Update 2020; 27:584-618. [PMID: 33302299 DOI: 10.1093/humupd/dmaa051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 142] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility. An endometrial component has been suggested to contribute to subfertility and poor reproductive outcomes in affected women. OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE The aim of this review was to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to support that endometrial function is altered in women with PCOS, whether clinical features of PCOS affect the endometrium, and whether there are evidence-based interventions to improve endometrial dysfunction in PCOS women. SEARCH METHODS An extensive literature search was performed from 1970 up to July 2020 using PubMed and Web of Science without language restriction. The search included all titles and abstracts assessing a relationship between PCOS and endometrial function, the role played by clinical and biochemical/hormonal factors related to PCOS and endometrial function, and the potential interventions aimed to improve endometrial function in women with PCOS. All published papers were included if considered relevant. Studies having a specific topic/hypothesis regarding endometrial cancer/hyperplasia in women with PCOS were excluded from the analysis. OUTCOMES Experimental and clinical data suggest that the endometrium differs in women with PCOS when compared to healthy controls. Clinical characteristics related to the syndrome, alone and/or in combination, may contribute to dysregulation of endometrial expression of sex hormone receptors and co-receptors, increase endometrial insulin-resistance with impaired glucose transport and utilization, and result in chronic low-grade inflammation, immune dysfunction, altered uterine vascularity, abnormal endometrial gene expression and cellular abnormalities in women with PCOS. Among several interventions to improve endometrial function in women with PCOS, to date, only lifestyle modification, metformin and bariatric surgery have the highest scientific evidence for clinical benefit. WIDER IMPLICATIONS Endometrial dysfunction and abnormal trophoblast invasion and placentation in PCOS women can predispose to miscarriage and pregnancy complications. Thus, patients and their health care providers should advise about these risks. Although currently no intervention can be universally recommended to reverse endometrial dysfunction in PCOS women, lifestyle modifications and metformin may improve underlying endometrial dysfunction and pregnancy outcomes in obese and/or insulin resistant patients. Bariatric surgery has shown its efficacy in severely obese PCOS patients, but a careful evaluation of the benefit/risk ratio is warranted. Large scale randomized controlled clinical trials should address these possibilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Palomba
- Unit of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Grande Ospedale Metropolitano of Reggio Calabria, Reggio Calabria, Italy
| | - Terhi T Piltonen
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, PEDEGO Research Unit, Medical Research Center, Oulu University Hospital, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Linda C Giudice
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
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Schmees N, Weinmann H. Recent patent trends in the field of progesterone receptor agonists and modulators. Expert Opin Ther Pat 2010; 19:1521-34. [PMID: 19785507 DOI: 10.1517/13543770903312946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Progesterone receptor agonists are used in female contraception, hormone replacement therapy or some gynecological conditions like endometriosis. The interest for antagonists or selective progesterone receptor modulators (SPRMs) is growing. Recent reports on this class of compounds indicate that they could become the next generation of therapeutics in gynecological treatments. OBJECTIVE This overview summarizes the work on progesterone receptor agonists, SPRMs and antagonists reported in the patent literature in the past 4 years. METHODS The focus of the article is the examination of patents, primarily published as WO, EU or US patents since 2005. In some cases, additional data from the public literature is included into the discussion. These data are of substantial interest as the available biological data disclosed in patents are usually limited for new compound classes. RESULTS/CONCLUSION Some highly active clusters of compounds have been disclosed in the past 4 years. The current research seems to focus on SPRMs and progesterone receptor antagonists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norbert Schmees
- Bayer Schering Pharma, Medicinal Chemistry, Muellerstrasse 178, 13353 Berlin, Germany.
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Li W, Hwang DJ, Cremer D, Joo H, Kraka E, Kim J, Ross CR, Nguyen VQ, Dalton JT, Miller DD. Structure determination of chiral sulfoxide in diastereomeric bicalutamide derivatives. Chirality 2009; 21:578-83. [DOI: 10.1002/chir.20642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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Shibutani M, Lee KY, Igarashi K, Woo GH, Inoue K, Nishimura T, Hirose M. Hypothalamus region-specific global gene expression profiling in early stages of central endocrine disruption in rat neonates injected with estradiol benzoate or flutamide. Dev Neurobiol 2007; 67:253-69. [PMID: 17443786 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.20349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
To identify genes linked to early stages of disruption of brain sexual differentiation, hypothalamic region-specific microarray analyses were performed using a microdissection technique with neonatal rats exposed to endocrine-acting drugs. To validate the methodology, the expression fidelity of microarrays was first examined with two-round amplified antisense RNAs (aRNAs) from methacarn-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue (PET) in comparison with expression in unfixed frozen tissue (UFT). Decline of expression fidelity when compared with the 1x-amplified aRNAs from UFTs was found as a result of the preferential amplification of the 3' side of mRNAs in the second round in vitro transcription. However, expression patterns for the 2x-amplified aRNAs were mostly identical between methacarn-fixed PET and UFT, suggesting no obvious influence of methacarn fixation and subsequent paraffin embedding on expression levels. Next, in the main experiment, neonatal rats at birth were treated subcutaneously either with estradiol benzoate (EB; 10 microg/pup) or flutamide (FA; 250 microg/pup), and medial preoptic area (MPOA)-specific microarray analysis was performed 24 h later using 2x-amplified aRNAs from methacarn-fixed PET. Numbers of genes showing constitutively high expression in the MPOA predominated in males, implying a link with male-type growth supported by perinatal testosterone. Around 60% of genes showing sex differences in expression demonstrated altered levels after EB treatment in females, suggesting an involvement of genes necessary for brain sexual differentiation. When compared with EB, FA affected a rather small number of genes, but fluctuation was mostly observed in females, as with EB. Moreover, many selected genes common to EB and FA showed down-regulation in females with both drugs, suggesting a common mechanism for endocrine center disruption in females, at least at early stages of post-natal development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Makoto Shibutani
- Division of Pathology, National Institute of Health Sciences, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-8501, Japan.
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Ji YK, Lee GS, Choi KC, Jeung EB. Anti-progestogenic effect of flutamide on uterine expression of calbindin-D9k mRNA and protein in immature mice. Reprod Toxicol 2006; 22:694-701. [PMID: 16777378 DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2006.04.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2005] [Revised: 04/06/2006] [Accepted: 04/17/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
A calcium binding protein, calbindin-D9k (CaBP-9k), is a cytosolic protein and regulated by steroid hormones in the reproductive tissues. Mouse CaBP-9k gene was predominantly regulated by progesterone (P4), whereas rat CaBP-9k was mainly regulated by 17beta-estradiol (E2) in the uterus. The induction of CaBP-9k can be employed as a biomarker for steroidal substrates as endocrine disruptors (EDs). Flutamide (FLU) is a non-steroidal anti-androgen or pro-drug that is rapidly metabolized to hydroxyflutamide, which may have both an anti-androgenic and anti-progestogenic activities. Thus, in the present study, we employed immature mice (14-day-old) subcutaneously injected with P4 (20 mg/kg/day) and/or FLU (5 mg/kg/day) for 3 consecutive days in the presence or absence of RU486, a pure PR antagonist (30 mg/kg/day), to analyze uterine CaBP-9k expression in this model. When immature mice were treated with P4, the expression levels of CaBP-9k mRNA and protein were significantly increased by P4. P4-induced expression levels of CaBP-9k mRNA and protein were abolished by FLU, in part, suggesting that FLU is a partial antagonist of P4 in the regulation of uterine CaBP-9k in immature mice. In addition, P4-induced CaBP-9k expression was completely reversed by RU486. Increased expression levels of CaBP-9k mRNA and protein were maintained for 24h after final injection with P4 in a time-dependent manner. However, CaBP-9k mRNA rapidly disappeared after 48 h and its protein level is similar with its mRNA. Treatment with FLU suppressed partially P4-induced CaBP-9k mRNA and protein until 24 h. Taken together, these results indicate that FLU has an anti-progestogenic activity and plays a role as a partial antagonist of P4 in the regulation of uterine CaBP-9k in immature mouse model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youn-Kyu Ji
- Laboratory of Veterinary Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea
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Hwang DJ, Yang J, Xu H, Rakov IM, Mohler ML, Dalton JT, Miller DD. Arylisothiocyanato selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) for prostate cancer. Bioorg Med Chem 2006; 14:6525-38. [PMID: 16828557 PMCID: PMC2234576 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2006.06.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2006] [Revised: 06/06/2006] [Accepted: 06/08/2006] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
A new series of androgen receptor targeted agents (ARTA) was prepared and tested in androgen-dependent and -independent prostate cancer cell lines. These agents were bicalutamide analogs with isothiocyanato substituted B-rings. Also, the linker sulfone of R-bicalutamide was maintained or replaced with several alternative linkages including ether, amine, N-methylamine, thioether, and methylene (in this case the product was a racemic mixture) functional groups at the X-position. To expand the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of these arylisothiocyanato AR ligands, B-ring halogenated arylisothiocyanato ligands were also prepared and tested. The arylisothiocyanato AR ligands showed strong binding affinities to AR ranging from 0.6 to 54 nM. Among them, thioether and ether linkages demonstrated high binding affinities (0.6 and 4.6 nM, respectively) and selective cell growth inhibition (approximately 3- to 6-fold) for LNCaP, an androgen-dependent prostate cancer cell line, when compared to the androgen independent prostate cell lines (DU145, PC-3, and PPC-1) and a bladder cell line (TSU-Pr1). However, the ligands were inactive (IC50>100 mM) in a normal monkey kidney cell line (CV-1) that was used as the control for non-specific toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Jin Hwang
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Jun Yang
- Division of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Huiping Xu
- Division of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Igor M. Rakov
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Michael L. Mohler
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - James T. Dalton
- Division of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Duane D. Miller
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 901 448 6026; fax: +1 901 448 3446; e-mail:
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Mohler ML, Nair VA, Hwang DJ, Rakov IM, Patil R, Miller DD. Nonsteroidal tissue selective androgen receptor modulators: a promising class of clinical candidates. Expert Opin Ther Pat 2005. [DOI: 10.1517/13543776.15.11.1565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Chwalisz K, Perez MC, Demanno D, Winkel C, Schubert G, Elger W. Selective progesterone receptor modulator development and use in the treatment of leiomyomata and endometriosis. Endocr Rev 2005; 26:423-38. [PMID: 15857972 DOI: 10.1210/er.2005-0001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 210] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Selective progesterone receptor modulators (SPRMs) represent a new class of progesterone receptor ligands. SPRMs exert clinically relevant tissue-selective progesterone agonist, antagonist, or mixed agonist/antagonist effects on various progesterone target tissues in vivo. Asoprisnil (J867) is the first SPRM to reach an advanced stage of clinical development for the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids and endometriosis. Asoprisnil belongs to the class of 11beta-benzaldoxime-substituted estratrienes that exhibit partial progesterone agonist/antagonist effects with high progesterone receptor specificity in animals and humans. Asoprisnil has no antiglucocorticoid activity in humans at therapeutic doses. It exhibits endometrial antiproliferative effects on the endometrium and breast in primates. Unlike progesterone antagonists, asoprisnil does not induce labor in relevant models of pregnancy and parturition. It induces amenorrhea primarily by targeting the endometrium. In human subjects with uterine fibroids, asoprisnil suppressed both the duration and intensity of uterine bleeding in a dose-dependent manner and reduced tumor volume in the absence of estrogen deprivation. In subjects with endometriosis, asoprisnil was effective in reducing nonmenstrual pain and dysmenorrhea. Asoprisnil may, therefore, provide a novel, tissue-selective approach to control endometriosis-related pain. SPRMs have the potential to become a novel treatment of uterine fibroids and endometriosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristof Chwalisz
- TAP Pharmaceutical Products, Inc., 675 North Field Drive, Lake Forest, Illinois 60045, USA.
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Marhefka CA, Gao W, Chung K, Kim J, He Y, Yin D, Bohl C, Dalton JT, Miller DD. Design, synthesis, and biological characterization of metabolically stable selective androgen receptor modulators. J Med Chem 2004; 47:993-8. [PMID: 14761201 PMCID: PMC2040239 DOI: 10.1021/jm030336u] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A series of nonsteroidal ligands were synthesized as second-generation agonists for the androgen receptor (AR). These ligands were designed to eliminate metabolic sites identified in one of our first-generation AR agonists, which was inactive in vivo due to its rapid metabolism to inactive constituents. The binding affinity of these compounds was evaluated using AR isolated from rat ventral prostate. These second-generation compounds bound the AR in a high affinity and stereoselective manner, with K(i) values ranging from about 4 to 130 nM. The ability of these ligands to stimulate AR-mediated transcriptional activation was examined in cells transfected with the human AR and a hormone-dependent luciferase reporter gene. Although some compounds were unable to stimulate AR-mediated transcription, several demonstrated activity similar to that of dihydrotestosterone (DHT, an endogenous steroidal ligand for the AR). We also evaluated the in vivo pharmacologic activity of selected compounds in castrated male rats. Three compounds were identified as selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), exhibiting significant anabolic activity while having only moderate to minimal androgenic activity in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Craig A Marhefka
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, 847 Monroe Avenue, Johnson Building, Room 227C, The University of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee 38163, USA
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Dong Y, Roberge JY, Wang Z, Wang X, Tamasi J, Dell V, Golla R, Corte JR, Liu Y, Fang T, Anthony MN, Schnur DM, Agler ML, Dickson JK, Lawrence RM, Prack MM, Seethala R, Feyen JHM. Characterization of a new class of selective nonsteroidal progesterone receptor agonists. Steroids 2004; 69:201-17. [PMID: 15072922 DOI: 10.1016/j.steroids.2003.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2003] [Revised: 11/21/2003] [Accepted: 12/04/2003] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The identification of a new series of selective nonsteroidal progesterone receptor (PR) agonists is reported. Using a high-throughput screening assay based on the measurement of transactivation of a mouse mammary tumor virus promoter-driven luciferase reporter (MMTV-Luc) in human breast cancer T47D cells, a benzimidazole-2-thione analog was identified. Compound 1 showed an apparent EC50 of 53 nM and efficacy of 93% with respect to progesterone. It binds to PR with high affinity (Ki nM), but had no or very low affinity for other steroid hormone receptors. Structure-activity relationship studies of a series of benzimidazole-2-thione analogs revealed critical positions for high PR binding affinity and transactivation potency as well as receptor selectivity, as exemplified by 25. Compound 25 binds to human PR with high affinity (Ki nM) and had at least > 1000-fold selectivity for PR versus other steroid receptors. Molecular modeling studies suggested that these agonists overlap favorably with progesterone in the ligand-binding domain of PR. In T47D cells, compound 25 acted as a full agonist in the MMTV-Luc reporter assay, as well as in the induction of endogenous alkaline phosphatase activity with apparent EC50 values of 4 and 9 nM, respectively. In the immature rat model, compound 25 provided a significant suppression of estrogen-induced endometrium hypertrophy as measured by luminal epithelial height. In contrast, compound 25 was inactive in the luteinizing hormone release assay in young ovariectomized rats. These benzimidazole-2-thione analogs constitute a new series of nonsteroidal PR agonists with an excellent steroid receptor selectivity profile. The differential activities observed in the in vivo progestogenic assays in rat models suggest that these analogs can act as selective PR modulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Dong
- Department of Metabolic and Cardiovascular Drug Discovery, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Pennington, NJ 08543, USA
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Abstract
The effects of progesterone on target tissues are mediated by progesterone receptors (PRs), which belong to a family of nuclear receptors and function as ligand-activated transcription factors to regulate the expression of specific sets of target genes. Progesterone antagonists repress the biological actions of progesterone by "actively" inhibiting PR activation. This work discusses the first clinically used progesterone antagonist RU486 and closely related compounds in terms of how these compounds inhibit progesterone action through heterodimerization and competition for DNA binding and by the recruitment of corepressors to promoters of target genes to repress transcription. We discuss cellular factors that may influence the activity of these compounds, such as the availability of coactivators and corepressors and the context of specific target promoters in any given cell type. We also discuss steroidal and nonsteroidal antagonist selectivity for PR versus other steroid hormone receptors and suggest that it may be possible to develop tissue/cell specific modulators of PR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan A Leonhardt
- University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Department of Pathology, Denver, Colorado 80262, USA
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Shors TJ, Miesegaes G. Testosterone in utero and at birth dictates how stressful experience will affect learning in adulthood. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2002; 99:13955-60. [PMID: 12359876 PMCID: PMC129804 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.202199999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2002] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Exposure to an acute stressful event can enhance learning in male rats, whereas exposure to the same event dramatically impairs performance in females. Here we tested whether the presence of sex hormones during early development organizes these opposite effects of stress on learning in males vs. females. In the first experiment, males were castrated at birth whereas females were injected with testosterone. Rats were trained as adults on the hippocampal-dependent learning task of trace eyeblink conditioning. Performance in adult males that had been castrated at birth was still enhanced by exposure to an acute stressful experience. However, adult females injected with testosterone at birth responded in the opposite direction, i.e., exposure to the stressor that typically reduces performance instead enhanced their levels of conditioning. In the second experiment, exposure to testosterone was manipulated in utero by injecting pregnant females with a testosterone antagonist. After foster rearing, adult offspring were exposed to the stressor and trained on the hippocampal-dependent learning task of trace conditioning. Although performance in adult females was unaffected by antagonizing testosterone in utero, i.e., stress still reduced performance, the enhancement of conditioning after stress in adult males was prevented. Thus, the presence of sex hormones during gestation and development organizes whether and how acute stressful experience will affect the ability to acquire new information in adulthood. As with many sexual behaviors, these cognitive responses to stress appear to be masculinized by exposure to testosterone and feminized by its absence during very early development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tracey J Shors
- Department of Psychology and Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854-8020, USA.
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