J Julie Kim

The development and progression of endometriotic lesions are poorly understood, but immune cell dysfunction and inflammation are closely associated with the pathophysiology of endometriosis. There is a need for 3D in vitro models to permit …

BACKGROUND: More than 70% of leiomyomas (LM) harbor MED12 mutations, primarily in exon 2 at c.130-131(GG). The cause of MED12 mutations in myometrial cells remains largely unknown. We hypothesized that increased ROS promotes MED12 mutations…

Since the beginning of clinical medicine, the human uterus has held the fascination of clinicians and researchers, given its critical role in the reproduction of our species. The endometrial lining provides residence for the embryo; however…

CONTEXT: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent disorder in reproductive aged women associated with a number of endocrine and metabolic complications, including increased risk of endometrial cancer. OBJECTIVE: To study the effect …

Progesterone is a steroid hormone that plays an important role in the breast. Progesterone exerts its action through binding to progesterone receptor (PR), a transcription factor. Deregulation of the progesterone signaling pathway is implic…

The endometrium maintains complex controls on proliferation and apoptosis as part of repetitive menstrual cycles that prepare the endometrium for the window of implantation and pregnancy. The reliance on inflammatory mechanisms for both imp…

Microphysiologic systems (MPS), including new organ-on-a-chip technologies, recapitulate tissue microenvironments by employing specially designed tissue or cell culturing techniques and microfluidic flow. Such systems are designed to incorp…

The purpose of this study was to test the effect of MK2206, an allosteric inhibitor of AKT, on the growth and invasion of patient-derived xenografts (PDX) of endometrial cancer. Three PDX lines, USC1 (uterine serous), EEC2 (endometrioid gra…

OBJECTIVE: Fenretinide is a synthetic retinoid analogue that promotes apoptosis but has decreased toxicity when compared to other retinoids. We have previously shown that retinoic acid (RA) production in endometriotic tissue is decreased, r…

BACKGROUND: Synuclein gamma (SNCG) expression is associated with advanced disease and chemoresistance in multiple solid tumors. Our goal was to determine if SNCG protein expression in ovarian cancer was correlated with clinicopathologic var…

The pathogenesis of endometriosis remains unclear, and relatively little is known about the mechanisms that promote establishment and survival of the disease. Previously, we demonstrated that v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog (AKT…

Progesterone plays an essential role in the maintenance of the endometrium; it prepares the endometrium for pregnancy, promotes decidualization, and inhibits estrogen-dependent proliferation. Progesterone function is often dysregulated in e…

CONTEXT: Endometriosis is characterized by progesterone resistance and hyperactivity of the AKT and MAPK pathways. Kinases can cause posttranslational modifications of the progesterone receptor (PR) to influence cellular localization and pr…

Progesterone receptor (PR) mediates the actions of the ovarian steroid progesterone, which together with estradiol regulates gonadotropin secretion, prepares the endometrium for implantation, maintains pregnancy, and differentiates breast t…

BACKGROUND: Progesterone, via its nuclear receptor (PR), exerts an overall tumorigenic effect on both uterine fibroid (leiomyoma) and breast cancer tissues, whereas the antiprogestin RU486 inhibits growth of these tissues through an unknown…

CONTEXT: Endometriosis affects approximately 10% of women in the United States and causes pain and infertility. Decidualization of endometrial stromal cells from women with endometriosis is aberrant. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study …

Loss of progesterone signaling in the endometrium may be a causal factor in the development of endometriosis, and progesterone resistance is commonly observed in women with this disease. In endometriotic stromal cells, the levels of progest…

PURPOSE: Wnt signaling regulates the fine balance between stemness and differentiation. Here, the role of Wnt signaling to maintain the balance between estrogen-induced proliferation and progesterone-induced differentiation during the menst…

Progesterone is a key hormone in the regulation of uterine function. In the normal physiological context, progesterone is primarily involved in remodeling of the endometrium and maintaining a quiescent myometrium. When pathologies of the ut…

BACKGROUND: Fertility-sparing treatment may be offered as an alternative to standard surgical management of early-stage, well-differentiated endometrial cancer in young women. Immunostaining for progesterone receptor (PR) status is not curr…

Endometriosis is a poorly understood gynaecologic disorder that is associated with infertility. In this study, we examined the expression of HOXA10 in the eutopic endometrium of baboons with induced endometriosis. A decrease in HOXA10 mRNA …

This study examines the distribution of estrogen receptors (ESR), progesterone receptors (Pgr), and the chaperone immunophilin FKBP52 in the eutopic endometrium in a baboon model of endometriosis during the window of receptivity to determin…

Local estrogen biosynthesis is a major factor in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Aberrant expression of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and aromatase in endometriotic tissue leads to an up-regulation of estrogen production.…

Endometriosis is the most common cause of pelvic pain and affects an estimated 5 million women in the US. The biologically active estrogen estradiol (E2) is the best-defined mitogen for the growth and inflammation processes in the ectopic e…