Etonogestrel

Etonogestrel induces FKBP51 mRNA and protein expression in cultured HESCs^[1].

Thawed HESCs are grown to confluence in basal medium (BM), a phenol red-free 1:1 v/v mix of Dulbecco's MEM/Ham's F-12, with 100U/ml penicillin, 100 μg/ml streptomycin, 0.25 μg/ml fungizone complex supplemented with 10% charcoal-stripped calf serum. Confluent HESCs are incubated in parallel in BM with 0.1% ethanol (vehicle control) or 10nM E2(estradiol) or E2+100 nM P4(progesterone), or 100 nM of ETO(etonogestrel) or 100 nM of MPA(medroxyprogesterone acetate). After 7 days, the cultures are washed twice with 1X phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) to remove residual serum, then placed in a serum-free defined media (DM) comprising BM plus ITS+ (insulin, transferrin, selenious and linoleic acid) premix, 5 μM of FeSO4, 50 μM of ZnSO4, 1 nM of CuSO4, 20 nM of Na2SeO3 trace elements, 50 μg/ml of ascorbic acid and 50 ng/ml of recombinant epidermal growth factor for 24h. The cultures are washed twice with 1X PBS to remove the residual steroids and DM containing corresponding vehicle control or steroids is added to the cultures for 6h or 24h. At the end of incubation periods, HESCs are washed with ice-cold 1X PBS and stored at −70°C until used for total RNA and protein extraction.

Etonogestrel (Implanon, Nexplanon, 3-Oxodesogestrel, 3-keto-Desogestrel) is a synthetic form of the naturally occurring female sex hormone progesterone.