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Query: UNIPROT:P11684 (Uteroglobin)
 114 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Uteroglobin, originally named blastokinin, is a protein synthesized and secreted by most epithelia, including the endometrium. Uteroglobin has strong anti-inflammatory properties that appear to be due, at least in part, to its inhibitory effect on the activity of the enzyme phospholipase A(2). In addition, recent experimental evidence indicates that uteroglobin exerts antiproliferative and antimetastatic effects in different cancer cells via a membrane receptor. The human endometrial adenocarcinoma cell line HEC-1A does not express uteroglobin. Thus, we transfected HEC-1A cells with human uteroglobin cDNA. The transfectants showed a markedly reduced proliferative potential as assessed by impaired plating efficiency as well as by reduced growth in soft agar. Cytofluorimetric analysis clearly indicated that in uteroglobin-transfected cells the time for completion of the cell cycle was increased. We previously demonstrated that HEC-1A cells actively synthesize platelet-activating factor, one of the products of phospholipase A(2) activity. In addition, we demonstrated that platelet-activating factor stimulates the proliferation of these cells through an autocrine loop. In uteroglobin transfectants, the activity of phospholipase A(2) and platelet-activating factor acetyl-transferase, which are involved in the synthesis of platelet-activating factor, was significantly reduced compared with wild-type and vector-transfected cells (p < 0.05). Our results indicate that enforced expression of uteroglobin in HEC-1A cells markedly reduced their growth potential and significantly impaired the synthesis of platelet-activating factor, an autocrine growth factor for these cells. These data suggest that one possible mechanism for the recently observed antineoplastic properties of uteroglobin may be the inhibition of the synthesis of platelet-activating factor.
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PMID:Uteroglobin reverts the transformed phenotype in the endometrial adenocarcinoma cell line HEC-1A by disrupting the metabolic pathways generating platelet-activating factor. 1105 67

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