DeMayo FJ

Using an established human primary cell culture model, we previously demonstrated that the promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger (PLZF) transcription factor is a direct target of the progesterone receptor (PGR) and is essential for progestin-d…

Progesterone (P4) is required for the preparation of the endometrium for a successful pregnancy. P4 resistance is a leading cause of the pathogenesis of endometrial disorders like endometriosis, often leading to infertility; however, the un…

Diseases impacting the female reproductive tract pose a critical health concern. The establishment of in vitro models to study primary endometrial cells is crucial to understanding the mechanisms that contribute to normal endometrial functi…

Endometrial function is dependent on a tight crosstalk between the epithelial and stromal cells of the endometrium. This communication is critical to ensure a fertile uterus and relies on progesterone and estrogen signaling to prepare a rec…

Steroid receptor coactivator-3 (SRC-3; also known as NCOA3 or AIB1) is a member of the multifunctional p160/SRC family of coactivators, which also includes SRC-1 and SRC-2. Clinical and cell-based studies as well as investigations on mice h…

For pregnancy to be established, uterine cells respond to the ovarian hormones, estrogen, and progesterone, via their nuclear receptors, the estrogen receptor (ESR1) and progesterone receptor (PGR). ESR1 and PGR regulate genes by binding ch…

Myometrial contraction is stringently controlled throughout pregnancy and parturition. Progesterone signaling, effecting through the progesterone receptor (PR), is pivotal in modulating uterine activity. Evidence has shown that two major PR…

ObjectiveTo systematically analyze the cell composition and transcriptome of primary human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) and transformed human endometrial stromal cells (THESCs).DesignThe primary HESCs from 3 different donors and 1 immo…

Synchrony between progesterone-driven endometrial receptivity and the arrival of a euploid blastocyst is essential for embryo implantation, a prerequisite event in the establishment of a successful pregnancy. Advancement of embryo implantat…

Oncogenic KRAS mutations are a common finding in endometrial cancers. Recent sequencing studies indicate that loss-of-function mutations in the ARID1A gene are enriched in gynecologic malignant tumors. However, neither of these genetic insu…

Progesterone's ability to maintain pregnancy in eutherian mammals highlighted this steroid as the 'hormone of pregnancy'. It was the unique 'pro-gestational' bioactivity of progesterone that enabled eventual purification of this ovarian ste…

The myometrium undergoes structural and functional remodeling during pregnancy. We hypothesize that myometrial genomic elements alter correspondingly in preparation for parturition. Human myometrial tissues from nonpregnant (NP) and term pr…

Estrogen receptor α (ERα) modulates gene expression by interacting with chromatin regions that are frequently distal from the promoters of estrogen-regulated genes. Active chromatin-enriched "super-enhancer" (SE) regions, mainly observed in…

The transcription factor forkhead box L2 (FOXL2) regulates sex differentiation and reproductive function. Elevated levels of this transcription factor have been observed in the diseases of the uterus, such as endometriosis. However, the imp…

The endometrium, composed of epithelial and stromal cell compartments, is tightly regulated by the ovarian steroid hormones estrogen (E2) and progesterone (P4) during early pregnancy. Through the progesterone receptor (PGR), steroid recepto…

Endometrial cancer remains the most common gynecological malignancy in the United States. While the loss of the tumor suppressor, PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog), is well studied in endometrial cancer, recent studies suggest that DICE…

The pioneer forkhead box (FOX)A2 transcription factor is specifically expressed in the glands of the uterus, which are central to endometrial function and fertility. In mice, FOXA2 is a critical regulator of uterine gland development in the…

Pausing of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) during early transcription, mediated by the negative elongation factor (NELF) complex, allows cells to coordinate and appropriately respond to signals by modulating the rate of transcriptional pause rel…

Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) is a rate-limiting catalytic subunit of a histone methyltransferase, polycomb repressive complex, which silences gene activity through the repressive histone mark H3K27me3. EZH2 is critical for epigenetic …

All mammalian uteri contain glands in the endometrium that develop only or primarily after birth. Gland development or adenogenesis in the postnatal uterus is intrinsically regulated by proliferation, cell-cell interactions, growth factors …