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Reproduction Abstracts (2014) 1 P276 | DOI: 10.1530/repabs.1.P276

WCRB2014 POSTER PRESENTATIONS (1) (335 abstracts)

Glucocorticoids trigger macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) secretion by decidualized human endometrial stromal cells in vitro: the modulatory effect of Bisphenol A

Chiara Mannelli 1 , Anna Szòstek 1 , Sara Ciaffarafà 2 , Claudiopietro Carotenuto 2 , Francesca Ietta 2 , Roberta Romagnoli 2 , Katarzyna Piotrowska-Tomala 1 , Luana Paulesu 2 & Dariusz Skarzynski 1


1Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Olsztyn, Poland; 2University of Siena, Siena, Italy.


Introduction: Pro-inflammatory cytokines are important mediators of the early phases of gestation. Among all these cytokines, the macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) plays significant roles in pregnancy establishment. In many cell types, low concentrations of glucocorticoids (GCs) are known to enhance MIF secretion, but the effect of GCs on endometrial cells has not been elucidated. Bisphenol A (BPA) is an environmental chemical that can alter reproductive physiology by mimicking the action of the endogenous hormones, including GCs. The aim of study was to investigate the effect of GCs on endometrial cells, and then to discover whether BPA could act on endometrial cells through/by modulating GCs’ pathway.

Materials and methods: Primary cultures of human endometrial stromal cells (n=8) were used as an in vitro model of the decidua at the beginning of gestation. Cells were exposed to BPA (1 nM) alone or in combination with cortisone and hydrocortisone (1 μM–0.1 nM). MIF and hydrocortisone secretion were monitored by ELISA assay. The effects of BPA on the GCs’ pathway were monitored by real-time PCR and SDS–PAGE immunoblotting on selected markers (GCs receptor; 11β-HSD enzymes).

Results and discussion: Hydrocortisone stimulates MIF secretion by endometrial stromal cells. BPA triggered an exaggerated pro-inflammatory response in decidualized endometrial cells, acting in a glucocorticoid-like fashion. Surprisingly, BPA suppressed the GC-driven release of MIF when administered together with these hormones. These results raise concern on the ability of BPA to modulate the inflammatory response in the maternal decidua at the time of pregnancy establishment and development.

The study was supported by the NSC grant N.2013/09/N/NZ5/03062.

Volume 1

World Congress of Reproductive Biology 2014

Edinburgh, UK
02 Sep 2014 - 04 Sep 2014

World Congress of Reproductive Biology 

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