Inhibitory Effect of Progesterone on Cervical Tissue Formation in a Three-Dimensional Culture System with Human Cervical Fibroblasts1

Progesterone supplementation is recommended to prevent preterm birth in women with a short cervix, but the mechanism is unclear. We hypothesize that progesterone acts by altering the composition of the cervical extracellular matrix (ECM). We tested this hypothesis using human cervical fibroblasts in both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) cultures. For 2D culture, cells were seeded in 6-well plates and cultured with media supplemented with estradiol (10(-8) M), progesterone (10(-7) or 10(-6) M), and vehicle. For 3D culture, the cells were cultured on a porous silk protein scaffold system. Progesterone and estrogen receptors were documented by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. In both 2D and 3D cultures, decreased collagen synthesis was seen with increased progesterone concentration. Three-dimensional cultures could be maintained significantly longer than 2D cultures, and the morphology of 3D cultures appeared similar to native cervical tissue. Thus, further studies were performed in 3D culture. To determine the effect of progesterone concentration, the 3D scaffolds were cultured with estradiol (10(-8) M) and five conditions: vehicle; 10(-9), 10(-8), or 10(-7) M progesterone; or 10(-7) M progesterone plus 10(-6) M mifepristone. The highest progesterone concentration correlated with the least amount of collagen synthesis. Collagen synthesis progressively increased as progesterone concentration decreased. This effect was partially antagonized by mifepristone, suggesting the mechanism is mediated by the progesterone receptor. This hormonally responsive 3D culture system supports the hypothesis that progesterone has a direct effect on remodeling cervical ECM during pregnancy. The 3D culture system could be useful for studying the mechanism of progesterone effects on the cervix.