Embryo implantation requires synchronized dialogue between the receptive endometrium and activated blastocyst via locally produced soluble mediators. During the mid-secretory (MS) phase of the menstrual cycle, increased glandular secretion into the uterine lumen provides important mediators that modulate the endometrium and support the conceptus during implantation. Previously we demonstrated t...

In the endometrium, hormonal effects on epithelial cells are often elicited through stromal hormone receptors via unknown paracrine mechanisms. Several lines of evidence support the hypothesis that Wnts participate in stromal-epithelial cell communication. Wnt7a is expressed in the luminal epithelium, whereas the extracellular modulator of Wnt signaling, secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFR...

BACKGROUND The human endometrium efficiently repairs each month after menstruation. The mechanisms involved in this repair process remain undefined. Aberrations in endometrial repair may lead to the common disorder of heavy menstrual bleeding. We hypothesized that connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is increased at the time of endometrial repair post-menses and that this increase is regulate...

Abnormal uterine bleeding can severely affect the quality of life for women. After menstruation, the endometrium must adequately repair to limit and stop bleeding. Abnormal uterine bleeding may result from incorrect or inadequate endometrial repair after menstruation. Previous studies have shown an important contribution of activin to skin wound healing, with severely delayed wound repair obser...

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are strongly implicated in menstruation. Messenger RNA for proMMP-1 and -3 was detectable in normal cycle endometrium only peri-menstrually and menstrually, although mRNA for their tissue inhibitors, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2, was present throughout the cycle. MMP-1, -3 and -9 were demonstrated immunohistochemically to be specifically associated with degraded tissue in m...

The aim of the present study was to determine the possible roles of chemokines in regulating bovine endometrial function during early pregnancy. The expression of six chemokines, including CCL2, CCL8, CCL11, CCL14, CCL16, and CXCL10, was higher in the endometrium at 15 and 18 days of pregnancy than at the same days in non-pregnant animals. Immunohistochemical staining showed that chemokine rece...

BACKGROUND The morphological changes occurring during the dynamic process of menstruation have previously been described only in terms of data derived from static sources, including histological and electron microscopic studies. Recent advances in pressure-controlled, continuous flow hysteroscopy permit dynamic images to complement the traditional modalities. METHODS A prospective observation...

Ovarian carcinomas are thought to arise in the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE). Although this tissue forms a simple epithelial covering on the ovarian surface, OSE cells exhibit some mesenchymal characteristics and contain little or no E-cadherin. However, E-cadherin is present in metaplastic OSE cells that resemble the more complex epithelia of the oviduct, endometrium and endocervix, and in ...

Considerable evidence supports a role for matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) in menstruation, but their focal pattern of expression within perimenstrual and menstrual endometrium suggests local rather than hormonal regulation. Menstruation shares a number of features with inflammatory responses, with leukocyte infiltration, proliferation and activation, occurring in the endometrium prior to menstr...

Decidualization of the human endometrium is critical for implantation, but the mechanisms involved are largely unknown. Activin subunits are expressed in endometrium during decidualization. From its known actions in cell differentiation and tissue remodelling, we hypothesized that activin A is involved in the paracrine regulation of decidualization. We examined the expression of activin recepto...