Steroid hormone regulation of EMP2 expression and localization in the endometrium

Background The tetraspan protein epithelial membrane protein-2 (EMP2), which mediates surface display of diverse proteins, is required for endometrial competence in blastocyst implantation, and is uniquely correlated with poor survival from endometrial adenocarcinoma tumors. Because EMP2 is differentially expressed in the various stages of the murine and human estrous cycle, we tested the hypothesis that the steroid hormones progesterone and estrogen influence EMP2 expression and localization.