Integration of Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Data Reveals Enhanced Steroid Hormone Biosynthesis in Mouse Uterus During Decidualization

It has been long recognized that decidualization is accompanied by significant changes in metabolic pathways. In the present study, we used the GC‐TOF‐MS approach to investigate the global metabolite profile changes associated with decidualization of mouse uterus on day 8 of pregnancy. We identified a total of 20 differentially accumulated metabolites, of which nine metabolites were down‐regulated and 11 metabolites were up‐regulated. As expected, seven differentially accumulated metabolites were involved in carbohydrate metabolism. We observed statistically significant changes in polyamines, putrescine and spermidine. Interestingly, the pantothenic acid, also known as vitamin B 5 , was up‐regulated. Finally, by integrating with transcriptomic data obtained by RNA‐seq, we revealed enhanced steroid hormone biosynthesis during decidualization. Our study contributes to an increase in the knowledge on the molecular mechanisms of decidualization.