help button home button Endocrine Society JCEM
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS

Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism , doi:10.1210/jc.2006-2482
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental Data
Right arrow Submit a related Letter to the Editor
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Copyright Permission
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Imir, A. G.
Right arrow Articles by Bulun, S. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Imir, A. G.
Right arrow Articles by Bulun, S. E.
Right arrowPubmed/NCBI databases
*Substance via MeSH
Medline Plus Health Information
*Uterine Cancer
*Uterine Fibroids
Related Collections
Right arrow Endocrine Oncology
Right arrow Female Endocrinology
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 92, No. 5 1979-1982
Copyright © 2007 by The Endocrine Society


BRIEF REPORT

Aromatase Expression in Uterine Leiomyomata Is Regulated Primarily by Proximal Promoters I.3/II

Ayse Gonca Imir, Zhihong Lin, Ping Yin, Santanu Deb, Bertan Yilmaz, Meral Cetin, Ali Cetin and Serdar E. Bulun

Division of Reproductive Biology Research (A.G.I., Z.L., P.Y., S.D., B.Y., S.E.B.), Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611; and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (M.C., A.C.), Cumhuriyet University School of Medicine, 58140 Sivas, Turkey

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Serdar E. Bulun, M.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University, 303 East Superior Street, Suite 4-123, Chicago, Illinois 60611. E-mail: s-bulun{at}northwestern.edu.

Context: Uterine leiomyomata are common tumors that cause irregular uterine bleeding and pregnancy loss and depend on estrogen for growth. Aromatase catalyzes the conversion of androgens to estrogens. Aromatase expression is regulated via alternatively used promoters in the placenta (I.1 and I.2a), fat (I.4, I.3, and II), bone (I.6), and gonads (II). A prostaglandin E2/cAMP-dependent pathway regulates coordinately the proximal promoters I.3/II, whereas glucocorticoids and cytokines regulate the distal promoter I.4. Use of each promoter gives rise to a population of aromatase mRNA species with unique 5'-untranslated regions (5'-UTRs). Uterine leiomyoma tissue, but not normal myometrium, overexpresses aromatase leading to estrogen-stimulated cell proliferation. Aromatase inhibitor treatment shrank uterine leiomyomata in a few women.

Objective and Design: Promoter I.4 was reported to regulate aromatase expression in uterine leiomyomata from a group of Japanese women. Here, we used two independent techniques to identify the promoters that regulate aromatase expression in uterine leiomyomata (n = 30) from 23 African-American, Hispanic, and white women.

Results: Rapid amplification of 5'-cDNA ends of aromatase mRNA species revealed the following distribution of promoter usage in leiomyomata: promoters I.3/II, 61.5%; I.2a, 15.4%; I.6, 15.4%; and I.4, 7.7%. Real-time PCR, which quantifies mRNA species with promoter-specific 5'-UTRs, revealed the following distribution for each 5'-UTR as a fraction of total aromatase mRNA: I.3/II, 69.6%; I.4, 7.3%; and other promoters, 23.1%.

Conclusions: The primary in vivo aromatase promoter in leiomyoma tissues in non-Asian U.S. women is the prostaglandin E2/cAMP-responsive I.3/II region. Alternative signals may stimulate aromatase expression that is a common biological phenotype in uterine leiomyomata.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Biol. Reprod.Home page
M. B. Yilmaz, A. Wolfe, Y.-H. Cheng, C. Glidewell-Kenney, J. L. Jameson, and S. E. Bulun
Aromatase Promoter I.f is Regulated by Estrogen Receptor Alpha (ESR1) in Mouse Hypothalamic Neuronal Cell Lines
Biol Reprod, November 1, 2009; 81(5): 956 - 965.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
A. V. Hoekstra, E. C. Sefton, E. Berry, Z. Lu, J. Hardt, E. Marsh, P. Yin, J. Clardy, D. Chakravarti, S. Bulun, et al.
Progestins Activate the AKT Pathway in Leiomyoma Cells and Promote Survival
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., May 1, 2009; 94(5): 1768 - 1774.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
H. Ishikawa, S. Reierstad, M. Demura, A. W. Rademaker, T. Kasai, M. Inoue, H. Usui, M. Shozu, and S. E. Bulun
High Aromatase Expression in Uterine Leiomyoma Tissues of African-American Women
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., May 1, 2009; 94(5): 1752 - 1756.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Mol Hum ReprodHome page
Y. Yamagata, R. Maekawa, H. Asada, T. Taketani, I. Tamura, H. Tamura, J. Ogane, N. Hattori, K. Shiota, and N. Sugino
Aberrant DNA methylation status in human uterine leiomyoma
Mol. Hum. Reprod., April 1, 2009; 15(4): 259 - 267.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Reproductive SciencesHome page
M. Demura, S. Reierstad, J. E. Innes, and S. E. Bulun
Novel Promoter I.8 and Promoter Usage in the CYP19 (Aromatase) Gene
Reproductive Sciences, December 1, 2008; 15(10): 1044 - 1053.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Home page
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
H. Ishikawa, V. Fencki, E. E. Marsh, P. Yin, D. Chen, Y.-H. Cheng, S. Reisterd, Z. Lin, and S. E. Bulun
CCAAT/Enhancer Binding Protein {beta} Regulates Aromatase Expression via Multiple and Novel Cis-Regulatory Sequences in Uterine Leiomyoma
J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., March 1, 2008; 93(3): 981 - 991.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Biol. Chem.Home page
K. Subbaramaiah, C. Hudis, S.-H. Chang, T. Hla, and A. J. Dannenberg
EP2 and EP4 Receptors Regulate Aromatase Expression in Human Adipocytes and Breast Cancer Cells: EVIDENCE OF A BRCA1 AND p300 EXCHANGE
J. Biol. Chem., February 8, 2008; 283(6): 3433 - 3444.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Endocrinology Endocrine Reviews J. Clin. End. & Metab.
Molecular Endocrinology Recent Prog. Horm. Res. All Endocrine Journals
Copyright © 2007 by The Endocrine Society