Changes in Progesterone Receptor Levels During Deciduomata Development in the Pseudopregnant Rat1

Abstract

A specific cytoplasmic progesterone receptor was identified and quantified in the deciduomata of the pseudopregnant rat. The receptor had a sedimentation coefficient of 6-7S on sucrose density gradients and was inactivated by proteolytic enzymes, sulfhydryl blocking agents and elevated temperature. The equilibrium association constant for the binding of progesterone by the deciduomal receptor was determined to be approximately 109 M-1. The concentrations of progesterone receptor sites in cytosols prepared from deciduomata on day 3 and 5 of decidualization were 3.4 .+-. 0.3 .times. 10-10 M and 3.6 .+-. 0.4 .times. 10-10 M, respectively, when normalized to a protein concentration of 1 mg/ml. These concentrations of progesterone receptor sites were similar to that measured in the uterine cytosol of estrous rats or in the contralateral untreated uterine horn of rats undergoing decidualization. Following day 5 of decidualization the concentrations of progesterone receptor sites decreased linearly so that by day 7 the concentration was approximately 1/2 that at days 3 and 5. The physiologic significance of the progesterone receptor and the decrease in its concentration with time are discussed with regard to their influence on the decidualization reaction.