progesterone

Progesterone is a naturally occurring steroid hormone and the principal progestogen in humans. It plays a central role in regulating the menstrual cycle, supporting pregnancy, and embryogenesis. Medically, progesterone is used for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in postmenopausal women (typically combined with estrogen to prevent endometrial hyperplasia), to induce menstruation in women with amenorrhea due to progesterone deficiency, as part of fertility treatments including support of early pregnancy and prevention of miscarriage, and for contraception. Its mechanism involves binding as an agonist to nuclear progesterone receptors (nPRs) and membrane progesterone receptors (mPRs), modulating gene expression that maintains the endometrium for implantation or suppresses ovulation depending on context. Progesterone also acts as an antagonist at mineralocorticoid receptors, partial agonist at glucocorticoid receptors (with low potency), antagonist at sigma σ1 receptor, negative allosteric modulator of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, and ligand for PGRMC1. Pharmaceutical formulations are chemically identical to endogenous human ovarian progesterone but are typically synthesized from plant sources[2][3][5].

Brand names

PrometriumCrinoneEndometrinProchieveBijuva

Other names

pregn-4-ene-3,20-dione