Notch1 Is Regulated by Chorionic Gonadotropin and Progesterone in Endometrial Stromal Cells and Modulates Decidualization in Primates

No other tissue in the body undergoes such a vast and extensive growth and remodeling in a relatively short period of time as the primate endometrium. Endometrial integrity is coordinated by ovarian hormones, namely, estrogens, progesterone, and the embryonic hormone chorionic gonadotropin (CG). These regulated events modulate the menstrual cycle and decidualization. The Notch family of transmembrane receptors regulate cellular proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, cellular processes required to maintain endometrial integrity. In two primate models, the human and the simulated pregnant baboon model, we demonstrated that Notch1 is increased during the window of uterine receptivity, concomitant with CG. Furthermore, CG combined with estrogens and progesterone up-regulate the level of Notch1, whereas progesterone increases the intracellular transcriptionally competent Notch1, which binds in a complex with progesterone receptor. Inhibition of Notch1 prevented decidualization, and alternatively, when decidualization is biochemically recapitulated in vitro, Notch1 is down-regulated. A focused microarray demonstrated that the Notch inhibitor, Numb, dramatically increased when Notch1 decreased during decidualization. We propose that in the endometrium, Notch has a dual role during the window of uterine receptivity. Initially, Notch1 mediates a survival signal in the uterine endometrium in response to CG from the implanting blastocyst and progesterone, so that menstrual sloughing is averted. Subsequently, Notch1 down-regulation may be critical for the transition of stromal fibroblast to decidual cells, which is essential for the establishment of a successful pregnancy.