PNAS 2015-04-21

Long-acting progestin-only contraceptives impair endometrial vasculature by inhibiting uterine vascular smooth muscle cell survival.

Umit A Kayisli, Murat Basar, Ozlem Guzeloglu-Kayisli, Nihan Semerci, Helen C Atkinson, John Shapiro, Taryn Summerfield, S Joseph Huang, Katja Prelle, Frederick Schatz, Charles J Lockwood

Index: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 112(16) , 5153-8, (2015)

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Abstract

Molecular mechanisms responsible for abnormal endometrial vasculature in women receiving long-acting progestin-only contraceptives (LAPCs) are unknown. We hypothesize that LAPCs impair vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) and pericyte proliferation and migration producing thin-walled hyperdilated fragile microvessels prone to bleeding. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA) double-immunostaining assessed VSMC differentiation and proliferation in endometria from women before and after DepoProvera (Depo) treatment and from oophorectomized guinea pigs (OVX-GPs) treated with vehicle, estradiol (E2), medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), or E2+MPA. Whole-genome profiling, proliferation, and migration assays were performed on cultured VSMCs treated with MPA or etonogestrel (ETO). Endometrial vessels of Depo-administered women displayed reduced αSMA immunoreactivity and fewer PCNA (+) nuclei among αSMA (+) cells (P < 0.008). Microarray analysis of VSMCs identified several MPA- and ETO-altered transcripts regulated by STAT1 signaling (P < 2.22 × 10(-6)), including chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2). Both MPA and ETO reduce VSMC proliferation and migration (P < 0.001). Recombinant CCL2 reversed this progestin-mediated inhibition, whereas a STAT1 inhibitor abolished the CCL2 effect. Similarly, the endometria of MPA treated OVX-GPs displayed decreased αSMA staining and fewer PCNA (+) nuclei in VSMC (P < 0.005). In conclusion, LAPCs promote abnormal endometrial vessel formation by inhibiting VSMC proliferation and migration.