This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 92/10/4015    most recent Author Manuscript (PDF) Submit a related Letter to the Editor Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sharkey, J. Articles by Olcese, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sharkey, J. Articles by Olcese, J. Related Collections Female Endocrinology

Transcriptional Inhibition of Oxytocin Receptor Expression in Human Myometrial Cells by Melatonin Involves Protein Kinase C Signaling

Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4300

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: James Olcese, Ph.D., Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida State University College of Medicine, 1115 West Call Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4300. E-mail: james.olcese{at}med.fsu.edu.

Context: Our laboratory recently characterized the expression of the melatonin receptors in the human myometrium and showed that the expression of these receptors is suppressed during late pregnancy.

Objective: In an effort to understand better the significance of melatonin in the human myometrium, we explored the mechanisms through which this hormone influences the expression of the oxytocin receptor in vitro.

Design: The stable melatonin analog iodomelatonin was presented to cultured telomerase-immortalized myometrial cells of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase line under physiological doses and durations. Pharmacological inhibitors of melatonin binding, gene transcription, phospholipase C, and protein kinase C signaling were used to define the mechanism of melatonin action.

Results: Our results reveal that melatonin significantly inhibits oxytocin receptor mRNA expression primarily via the melatonin 2 receptor. The melatonin-dependent decrease in oxytocin receptor transcripts involves suppression of gene transcription rather than enhanced rates of transcript degradation. Melatonin effects were abolished by pretreating the cells with the phospholipase C inhibitor U73122 or the protein kinase C inhibitor C1.

Conclusions: Melatonin, like oxytocin, can negatively regulate oxytocin receptor transcription in human myometrial cells via modulation of protein kinase C signaling. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the reduced melatonin receptor expression during late pregnancy, which occurs at a time when oxytocin receptors are up-regulated, may be physiologically important for the subsequent timing of labor.