Remodeling of uterine innervation

This minireview reports current hypotheses concerning the remodeling of sympathetic innervation in rodent and human uterus during the estrous cycle and gestation. Neural modulation in this organ is related to sexual hormone concentrations, and a reduction in nerve density is observed when estrogen levels are high during the estrous cycle. Estrogen receptor alpha is considered to be the major receptor mediating the action of estrogen. In the uterus, the expression of neurotrophins, such as nerve growth factor, which are involved in the survival and growth of nerve fibers, changes in response to steroid levels. Despite much research, further studies are necessary to clarify various aspects of nerve growth control under diverse physiological conditions. These studies could be of importance, since alterations of the biological mechanisms of uterus innervation may play significant roles in various pathologies, such as infertility and spontaneous abortion. Similar content being viewed by others

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We are indebted to Dr. F. Orlando (INRCA, Ancona, Italy) for support and advice. Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Additional information This review is dedicated to Prof. Enrico Reale (Hannover, Germany), an outstanding scientist and teacher, in memory of his friendship and generous support of our work. A. Frontini and C. Latini equally contributed to this work. Funding was provided by the Polytechnic University of Marche, grants 2006–2007 (to M.M., D.M., and M.C.). Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Latini, C., Frontini, A., Morroni, M. et al. Remodeling of uterine innervation. Cell Tissue Res 334, 1–6 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-008-0657-x Received: Accepted: Published: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-008-0657-x