Figure 2.

DAX-1 controls basal but not PGE₂-induced StAR gene expression. A: Expression of DAX-1 and StAR protein in endometrial tissues collected from four normal and endometriosis patients, respectively. Equal amounts of total cell lysates from homogenized tissues were analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotted with antibodies against DAX-1 (top), StAR (middle), and β-actin (bottom), respectively. B: Representative Western blot shows the expression of DAX-1 and StAR protein at different time points after PGE₂ treatment. Endometriotic stromal cells were treated with or without 1 μmol/L PGE₂ for 2, 4, or 8 hours. Equal amounts of total cell lysates were analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotted with antibodies against DAX-1 (top), StAR (middle), and β-actin (bottom), respectively. This experiment was repeated for five times using different batches of cells and the pattern was the same. C: Endometriotic stromal cells were transiently co-transfected with empty vector (mock) or plasmids containing human DAX-1 cDNA (DAX-1) and −327StAR reporter plasmids. Data show means and standard errors of four experiments using different batches of cells. *Difference between PGE₂-treated and control groups. ^#Difference between mock- and DAX-1-transfected groups at P < 0.05.