Tibbetts TA, Mendoza-Meneses M, O'Malley BW and Conneely, OM. 1998. Mutual and intercompartmental regulation of estrogen and progesterone receptor expression in the mouse uterus. The objective of our research is to establish the role of nuclear receptors in vertebrate development. Nuclear receptors comprise a large family of structurally related transcription factors regulate the expression of genes that control a variety of developmental and physiological responses to diverse stimuli. Specifically, we aim to elucidate the physiological role of members of two different subfamilies of nuclear receptors, progesterone receptors and the nur subfamily of nuclear receptors.
Progesterone is a key regulator of female reproductive activity.
Our data indicates that these isoforms mediate the reproductive effects of progesterone in a different tissue specific manner. Currently, we are examining the mechanisms that lead to differential tissue selective functions of these isoforms. The nur subfamily comprises three proteins that, unlike the progesterone receptors, can function as constitutively active transcription factors that do not appear to require a ligand for activation. We are currently exploring the mechanisms by which both proteins contribute these developmental and physiological pathways and we are attempting to identify nur dependent target genes that mediate these events.