Effect of 17-α hydroxyprogesterone caproate on the production of tumor necrosis factor-α and the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 in lipopolysaccharide-treated gravid human myometrial explants

Objective:to determine whether 17-α hydroxyprogesterone (17-ohpc) alters tumor necrosis factor-α (tnf-α) production and the expression of cyclooxygenase type 2 (cox-2) in myometrium exposed to lipopolysaccharide (lps).study design:lower segment myometrial biopsies were obtained from non-laboring patients at term. tissues were cultured in serum-free media with 17-ohpc (1 μm) and lps (1 μg/ml), either alone or in combination. at 24 h, the production of tumor necrosis factor-α (tnf-α) and the expression of cox-2 was determined using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and real-time (rt-pcr). statistical analysis was performed using non-parametric testing. a p-value of <0.05 was considered significant.result:17-ohpc had no effect on tnf-α production and cox-2 expression when compared with untreated myometrial explants (p=0.61 and p=0.95). lps induced production of tnf-α (p=0.03) and expression of cox-2 (p=0.02). treatment with 17-ohpc did not block lps-induced tnf-α production (p=0.37) or cox-2 expression (p=0.12).conclusion:in this pilot study, 17-ohpc did not affect the production of tnf-α or cox-2 expression in human myometrium.