Estrogen Receptors and Estrogen-Induced Uterine Vasodilation in Pregnancy: A Review | Chapter 7 | Current Advances in Chemistry and Biochemistry Vol. 8

 Normal pregnancy is associated with dramatic increases in uterine blood flow to facilitate bidirectional maternal–fetal exchanges of respiratory gases and to provide fetal growth and survival with the sole source of nutrition. The mechanism(s) underlying pregnancy-associated uterine vasodilation are unknown, but it is linked to increased estrogen levels, which stimulate the production of specific estrogen receptor (ER)-dependent vasodilators in the uterine artery (UA). In UA endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells, the classical ERs (ER and ER) and the plasma membrane-bound G protein-coupled ER (GPR30/GPER) are expressed, mediating the estrogenic vasodilatory effects via genomic and/or nongenomic pathways that are likely epigenetically modified The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the literature on UA ERs with a focus on their roles in mediating local UA production of vasodilators by estrogens and pregnancy, as well as to discuss the potential clinical implications of dysregulated ER-mediated estrogen signaling in hypertensive pregnancy complications. The activation of these three ERs by estrogens increases endothelial production of nitric oxide (NO), which has been shown to play a role in uterine contraction. During pregnancy, vasodilation occurs. Local inhibition of NO biosynthesis, on the other hand, only partially attenuates estrogen-induced and pregnancy-associated uterine vasodilation, implying that mechanisms other than NO exist to mediate uterine vasodilation. We review the literature on the role of NO in ER-mediated mechanisms controlling estrogen-induced and pregnancy-associated uterine vasodilation, as well as our recent work on a "new" UA vasodilator, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which has dramatically altered our understanding of how estrogens regulate uterine vasodilation in pregnancy.

Author(s) Details

Jin Bai
Department of Obstetrics ans Gynecology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA

Yan Li
Translational Medical Research Center, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.

Dr. Ronald R. Magness
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.

Dong-bao Chen
Department of Obstetrics ans Gynecology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.

View Book :- https://stm.bookpi.org/CACB-V8/article/view/1874