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Query: UMLS:C0476089 (endometrial cancer)
 11,379 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

To understand the molecular mechanism of endometrial differentiation we have initiated an analysis of the uteroglobin promoter. Uteroglobin is normally expressed in endometrial tissues under the control of ovarian hormones. In gene transfer experiments with the Ishikawa cell line, derived from a human endometrial adenocarcinoma, we have identified several regions in the promoter of the uteroglobin gene that are responsible for its endometrium-specific expression. To evaluate the generality of these findings, we have begun cloning the promoter regions of potential endometrial markers, including the rat, mouse, and human uteroglobin gene. In the rat, expression of the uteroglobin-like gene, CC10, is dominant in the lung but is also observed in the endometrium of progesterone treated animals. A comparison of the 5'-flanking sequence of the rat and rabbit uteroglobin gene resulted in the detection of similarities and differences that could explain their differential expression in vivo. To substantiate these findings we have established several cell lines from rat endometrium using murine retroviral vectors containing a positive selection marker and various viral oncogenes, such as SV40 large T antigen, adenovirus E1A, and Ha-ras. Cell lines immortalized by SV40 T-antigen were subsequently transformed with the Ha-ras oncogene. Several cell lines exhibit properties of epithelial endometrial cells. Two cell lines generated with a temperature sensitive mutant of the SV40 large T-antigen grow as transformed cells at the permissive temperature, but differentiate upon shifting to the non-permissive temperature. These rat endometrial cell lines should be useful for the analysis of endometrium-specific gene expression and as model systems for endometrial carcinoma.
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PMID:Expression of the uteroglobin promoter in epithelial cell lines from endometrium. 206 10

A review is given of the comparative pathology of endometrial carcinomas regarding the incidence, the morphology, and the relation with endometrial hyperplasia. Compared to man, endometrial carcinomas in animals are fairly rare, except in rabbits, in cattle, and in a stock of Han: Wistar rats. In rabbits the endometrial carcinomas are mostly primary multiple and present in both horns. Histologically they are almost always adenocarcinomas. The histological structure can vary considerably with regard to the degree of differentiation. In cattle the endometrial carcinomas are mostly singular. Histologically they are mostly adenocarcinomas, often accompanied by formation of much dense fibrous tissue. In rats the endometrial carcinomas are mostly primary multiple adenocarcinomas. In man as well as in the rabbit and in the rat, relationships have been described between endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial carcinoma. It is striking that in the dog, a species in which endometrial hyperplasia very often occurs, endometrial carcinomas should be rare. The endometrial carcinoma in the rabbit as an animal model for human endometrial carcinoma is discussed extensively. In both species there are signs indicating relationships between endometrial carcinomas and sex hormones, especially oestrogens. The incidence in rabbits is very high. Endometrial carcinomas in rabbits can be transplanted subcutaneously in the same rabbit. They can also be cultured in vitro. Moreover the rabbit is a suitable species to study the progesterone/progesterone-receptor complex by determining the synthesis of the progesterone-induced protein uteroglobin which may be important in studying endometrial carcinomas. Uteroglobin is a good marker for a functional 'Progesterone-PR-DNA-mRNAug-Uteroglobin- System' (or PUG-System).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Comparative pathology of endometrial carcinoma. 638 39

Uteroglobin (UG) is a protein expressed in secretory epithelia of different tissues, including the human endometrium, where the expression levels are modulated by ovarian steroids. There is evidence that UG, which is a potent inhibitor of the activity of phospholipases A2, has anti-proliferative effects and we have previously demonstrated that enforced UG expression reverts the transformed phenotype in the endometrial cancer cell line HEC-1A. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the expression of UG in endometrial cancer tissues. Furthermore, the estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptor status was investigated. Finally, the amount of expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), which is stimulated by estrogens, was determined. Twenty-five patients were included in the study. Total RNA was extracted from tissue samples obtained at surgery. UG, ERalpha, ERbeta, PR transcripts were analyzed by RT-PCR both in tissues and in different endometrial cancer cell lines. The levels of MMP-9 and of the tissue inhibitor of matrix-metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) mRNA were determined by real-time RT-PCR. The statistical analysis of the results was based on Chi-square and t-test. UG expression was found in 73% of cases. No difference in the histopathological features between tumors expressing or not expressing UG was observed. The presence of UG significantly correlated with the expression of ERalpha and PR. The amount of MMP-9 was higher in UG+ and ERalpha+ tumors. Similar correlations were found in cell lines. Thus, our results indicate that the presence of UG in the majority of cases of endometrial carcinoma that were investigated, hypothetically a favorable disease marker, appears to be counteracted by high levels of MMP-9 expression.
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PMID:Expression of uteroglobin and matrix metalloproteinase-9 genes in endometrial cancer: relationship to estrogen and progesterone receptor status. 1471 79

Uteroglobin, first reported in 1968 as a steroid secreted in rabbit uterine fluid during early pregnancy, is a progesterone-regulated and progesterone-binding protein. There is evidence that indicates that uteroglobin is inversely correlated to neoplastic growth but its role to endometrial carcinogenesis is not known. Therefore we analyzed the expression of uteroglobin in 13 normal endometrium, 19 hyperplasia and 21 endometrial carcinoma samples and the relation to estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-alpha) and progesterone receptor (PR) by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. We also analyzed the expression of uteroglobin in 15 menopausal women who received hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The expression of uteroglobin was higher during the secretory phase than in the proliferative phase; however, it was detected in endometrial hyperplasia as weakly as in the proliferative phase and decreased according to the loss of differentiation in endometrial carcinoma. The results were basically in accord with those for PR; however, the expression of uteroglobin was weak, though PR was most detected in endometrial hyperplasia. In menopausal endometrium, the group treated with estrogen plus progesterone exhibited higher expression of uteroglobin than the group treated only with estrogen. The evidence suggests that uteroglobin expression is regulated by progesterone in the normal endometrium but that the regulation by PR is lost in endometrial hyperplasia and carcinoma according to acquirement of tumorigenesis and that estrogen plus progesterone therapy reduces the risk for endometrial carcinoma by restoring uteroglobin.
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PMID:Expression of uteroglobin in normal and carcinogenic endometrium and influence of hormone replacement therapy. 1473 66