Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) regulation of galectin-3 expression in endometrial epithelial cells and endometrial stromal cells

Previous investigations on galectin-3 (gal-3) have focused mainly on its role in some malignant tumors. It was believed that gal-3 plays important roles in cell proliferation, apoptosis and adhesion in many cell types. Recently, gal-3 has been recognized as a factor related to endometrial receptivity in the human endometrium and trophoblast during embryo implantation. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a specific embryonic hormone providing a signal from the embryo involved in preparing the receptive endometrium for embryo implantation. The current study aimed to determine whether hCG regulates gal-3 expression in endometrial cells. Our results showed that expression of gal-3 in both endometrial epithelial cells (EECs) and endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) could be regulated by hCG in an intricate manner. These results indicate that gal-3 might be regulated by hCG in preparing the endometrium for embryonic implantation.