Hormonal control of collagenase inhibitor production in rabbit uterine cervical fibroblast-like cells.

Rabbit uterine cervical fibroblast-like cells maintained in fetal calf serum-free medium were found to biosynthesize and secrete a collagenase inhibitor into the culture medium. All the properties of this inhibitor were similar to those that have been described so far for the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases. Both progesterone and 17 beta-estradiol significantly increased the level of collagenase inhibitor without the proliferation of cells. These data suggest that both progesterone and estradiol regulate collagenolysis in the uterus bifunctionally by acceleration of the inhibitor production in addition to their known inhibitory actions towards collagenase biosynthesis.