This Article Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted 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 Nothnick, W. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Nothnick, W. B.

Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) Deficient Mice Display Reduced Serum Progesterone Levels during Corpus Luteum Development

Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Molecular & Integrative Physiology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Warren B. Nothnick, Ph.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Kansas School of Medicine, 3901 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, Kansas 66160. E-mail: wnothnic{at}kumc.edu

Abstract

TIMP-1 is a multifunctional protein that is abundantly expressed within the ovary during the period of early corpus luteum formation. TIMP-1 has been suggested to play a role in progesterone production, but reports are conflicting. To more thoroughly examine the role of TIMP-1 in steroidogenesis during early luteal development in vivo, immature wild-type and TIMP-1 null female mice were primed with gonadotropins. Mice were sacrificed at 0, 24, and 48 h post hCG administration and serum was collected for determination of estradiol (E₂) or progesterone (P₄) concentrations. In the 24 h hCG groups, ovulation was assessed by counting the number of shed ova. Serum P₄ concentrations were significantly lower in the TIMP-1 null mice, both at 24 and 48-h post hCG compared to wild-type counterparts. No differences were detected in the number of ovulations between genotypes at the 24 h time point. In both the 24 and 48 h post-hCG groups, null mice had significantly higher ovarian wet weights. Interestingly, ovarian MMP activity was greater in the null mice at 24 h post hCG but higher in the wild-type at 48 h post hCG administration. These observations suggests that expression of TIMP-1 during early luteal development may participate in regulation of progesterone production via its ability to regulate ovarian MMP activity.