Progesterone action is essential for maturation of the endometrium to a receptive
state for implantation in humans and nonhuman primates. The orchestration of progesterone-regulated
gene expression is also temporally controlled during the secretory phase based on
the limited window for implantation. The genes and gene networks affected by progesterone
are likely to involve both activation and repression. Our laboratory has used the
rhesus monkey as a model to study the regulation of genes known or suspected to be
involved in endometrial maturation. In addition, we have used subtractive hybridization
and differential display techniques to identify novel or unsuspected genes that are
regulated by progesterone during endometrial maturation. Our studies have led us to
propose a working model of progesterone action during the primate secretory phase
that includes waves of gene activation and repression that culminate in a receptive
endometrium.
Progesterone - endometrium - gene regulation - rhesus monkey - maturation
