Adequate development of uterine receptivity is crucial for establishment of pregnancy. Expression of uterine receptivity
molecules i.e. αvβ3 integrin, E-cadherin and mucin-1 could be affected by testosterone. The objective of this study was
to investigate effect of testosterone on expression of these molecules during early pregnancy. 30 ovariectomised female
Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups that consisted of vehicle control, rats received eight days sex-steroid
replacement regime (intended to mimic the hormonal changes in early pregnancy) and three groups of rats given
testosterone (1 mg/kg/day) subcutaneously with or without flutamide or finasteride between day 6 and 8 representing the
period of uterine receptivity. At the end of the treatment, rats were sacrificed and uteri were removed. Expression and
distribution of αvβ3 integrin, E-cadherin and mucin-1 were examined by immunoflourescence and levels of messenger
RNA (mRNAs) were evaluated by real-time PCR. Expression of αvβ3 integrin, E-cadherin and mucin-1 in the uteri of
rats receiving sex-steroid replacement regime increased significantly as compared to control (p<0.05). In these rats,
concomitant administration of testosterone between day 6 and 8 resulted in expression of αvβ3 integrin, E-cadherin
and mucin-1 to decrease significantly (p<0.05) as compared to rats receiving sex-steroid replacement regime without
testosterone treatment. Moreover, the testosterone effects were not antagonized by either flutamide or finasteride. As
a result, reduced expression of uterine receptivity molecules by testosterone might interfere with early pregnancy
establishment, therefore could adversely affect the female fertility.
A reported increase in the incidence of infertility following high genistein intake could be related to alteration in the normal fluid volume and morphology of the uterus in adult female. In view of this, we investigated the effect of this compound on fluid secretion, fluid volume and morphology of the uterus in post-pubertal rats.