Temporal expression pattern of progesterone receptor in the uterine luminal epithelium suggests its requirement during early events of implantation

Objective: To determine the precise timing of progesterone receptor (PR) disappearing from the uterine luminal epithelium (LE) to help understand the significance of the dynamic PR expression in the LE during embryo implantation. Design: Experimental rodent models. Setting: University research laboratories. Animal(s): Mice and hamsters. Intervention(s): Pseudopregnancy and artificial decidualization. Main Outcome Measure(s): Blue dye injection for detecting embryo attachment; immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and in situ hybridization for detecting gene expression. Result(s): Progesterone receptor remained expressed in the LE up to 6 hours after the initial detection of blue dye reaction in mice (day 3, 22: 00 hours), but disappeared first from LE cells at the implantation site and subsequently from the entire LE layer by day 4, 06: 00 hours, when uterine stromal decidualization had become obvious. Progesterone receptor remained highly expressed in the LE of day 4 at 11: 00 hours in pseudopregnant mice, but it disappeared from the entire LE layer by day 4 at 06: 00 hours in artificially decidualized pseudopregnant mice. Conclusion(s): Progesterone receptor disappears from the LE after implantation has initiated and before the histologic decidualization manifests, suggesting an active role of continued PR expression in the LE for the initial implantation process. The disappearance of PR expression in the LE is regulated by uterine factor(s) produced upon embryo attachment. (Fertil Steril (R) 2011; 95:2087-93. (C) 2011 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.)