Figure 12.

Combined treatment with estrogen and progesterone selectively enhances UtMVEC invasion. (A) UtMVECs and HUVECs were seeded onto 2.5 mg/ml collagen matrices containing 300 nM S1P in the presence of 4 ng/ml VEGF and bFGF. Estrogen (E2) and progesterone (P4) were added at the following concentrations: 0 nM E2 and 0 nM P4, 0.1 nM E2 and 10 nM P4, 1 nM E2 and 100 nM P4, or 10 nM E2 and 1000 nM P4. Cells were allowed to invade for 24 h. At least three wells were counted per treatment and pooled from three independent experiments. The number of invading structures per well was normalized relative to the average control invasion (0 E2, 0 P4), (±SD). Statistical significance was determined using a one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test where each letter represents a significant statistical difference at P < 0.05 compared to other letters. Lower and upper case letters compare UtMVECs and HUVECs, respectively. (B) Photographs of UtMVEC and HUVEC invasion responses after treatment with 0 nM E2 and 0 nM P4, or 10 nM E2 and 1000 nM P4. Arrows indicate the original monolayer. Scale bar equals 100 μm.