Progesterone in pregnancy

Abstract

Maternal sex steroid hormones (such as oestrogen and progesterone) are known to have important roles in reproduction, contributing to maintaining pregnancy and to embryonic development. However, how maternal progesterone might influence the embryo and the maternal metabolism has been unclear; a new study set out to investigate this question.

The researchers focused on membrane progesterone receptor ε (mPRε), which is one of five progesterone receptors and is highly expressed in adipose tissue. Using an mPRε-deficient mouse model, the researchers showed that progesterone activated mPRε in white adipose tissue, which could promote insulin resistance. Moreover, in pregnancy, mPRε-deficient mice had better insulin sensitivity than wild-type mice, even though plasma levels of progesterone and insulin were similar between the two groups.