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Differential Expression of ß_1c Integrin Messenger Ribonucleic Acid and Protein Levels in Human Endometrium and Decidua during the Menstrual Cycle and Pregnancy

Center of Study on Mitochondria and Energy Metabolism (R.A.V., E.Mar., M.L., E.P.), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Bari, and Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology (G.L., L.S.) and Pathological Anatomy and Genetics (E.Mai., A.N.), University of Bari School of Medicine, I-70126 Bari, Italy

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. Rosa Anna Vacca, Center of Study on Mitochondria and Energy Metabolism, CNR Bari, Via Amendola 165/A, I-70126 Bari, Italy. E-mail: csmmrv09{at}area.ba.cnr.it.

ß_1C and ß_1A integrins are alternatively spliced variants of the human ß₁-subunit; the former has been shown to inhibit cell proliferation, and the latter to promote it. Although some components of the ß₁ integrin subfamily are expressed in human endometrial and decidual cells during the menstrual cycle and early pregnancy, to date no information is available about the expression of ß_1C integrin in endometrial and decidual tissues and its possible roles during implantation and pregnancy. To gain further insight on this subject, we have explored ß_1C integrin expression in endometrial (proliferative, secretory, and atrophic) and decidual (from the first and third trimesters of pregnancy) tissue samples at both gene and protein levels by Northern and Western blotting analyses and by immunohistochemistry. ß_1A protein levels were also measured in the same tissues as a control. The results of this study demonstrate that both ß_1C- and ß_1A-subunits are expressed in the endometrium and decidua. In the former, maximal ß_1C expression was detected in atrophic endometria, whereas ß_1A expression levels were increased in secretive and decreased in atrophic endometrial tissues compared with proliferative endometria. In addition, whereas ß_1A levels were significantly increased in decidual tissues, compared with proliferative endometria, ß_1C expression was dramatically reduced in the same tissues, thus pointing to selective down-regulation of ß_1C expression in the decidua.

These data suggest that the expression of ß_1C integrin, a very efficient inhibitor of cell proliferation, may be modulated by the maternal microenvironment and may play a fundamental role in mediating trophoblast outgrowth and migration during pregnancy.

This work was supported in part by a grant from ASI (ARS-99-77, to E.P.) and by a grant from Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica (Piani di potenziamento della rete scientifica e tecnologica–Cluster 03 to E.Mar.).

Abbreviations: ABC, Avidin-biotin peroxidase; ECM, extracellular matrix.

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