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Presence and Synthesis of Inhibin Subunits in Human Decidua^*

FELICE PETRAGLIA, LAURA CALZÀ, GIAN CARLO GARUTI, MARTINO ABRATE, LUCIANA GIARDINO, ANDREA R. GENAZZANI, WYLIE VALE and HELENE MEUNIER

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Modena (L.C.) Modena
Department of Physiology, University of Cagliari (L.C.) Cagliari
The Chair of Pain Pathophysiology and Therapy, University of Milan (L.G.) Milan, Italy
The Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology, Salk Institute (W. V.) La Jolla, California 92037
The Division of Endocrinology, The Hospital for Sick Children (H.M.) Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Felice Petraglia, M.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Modena School of Medicine, Via del Pozzo 71, 41100 Modena, Italy.

A growing number of studies provided the evidence that human decidua is a pregnancy-related tissue capable of hormone production and metabolism. The aim of the presentstudy was to evaluate the possible presence of inhibin subunits in human decidua. Tissue samples were collected in pregnant women during the first (8 weeks) and second trimester (18 weeks) of gestation and at term (40 weeks). Immunohistochemical data were obtained using affinity purified polyclonal antisera raised in rabbit against porcine , βA, or βB subunits. Levels of the respective inhibin subunits were evaluated by Northern blot analysis using cDNA probes encoding sequences corresponding to each subunit. The present results indicated that human decidua contains and synthesizes inhibin , βA, and βB subunits. The immunohistochemical data showed that decidual cells were stained with both inhibin and βB antisera, showing a similar localization. On the other hand, cells stained with inhibin βA antisera were sparse and followed a distribution pattern different from that of cells stained with or βB antisera. The first ingibin and βB subunit mRNAs were both expressed in first trimester of pregnancy, and those mRNA levels showed a gestational related increase. The βA subunit mRNA was expressed at very low levels at term and could not be detected earlier during pregnancy. The present data showed that human decidua actively produces inhibin subunits with a gestational-related profile. The results suggest that decidua may be a further source of inhibin-related proteins during pregnancy and emphasize the endocrine competence of human decidua.

^* This work was supported in part by the Italian Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, P.F. Fatma S.P. 7.2.3 the Medical Research Council of Canada, and NIH Grant HD-13527.

Supported in part by grants from the Pathophysiology Laboratory for the Nervous System, Hesperia Hospital.

Senior Clayton Foundation Investigator.

Received October 10, 1989.

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