Cell invasion targets specific tissues in physiological placental implantation and pathological metastasis, which raises questions about how this process is controlled. We compare dermis and endometrium capacities to support trophoblast invasion, using matching sets of human primary fibroblasts in a coculture assay with human placental explants. Substituting endometrium, the natural trophoblast...

To investigate the possible role of the superoxide radical and its scavenging system in the human endometrium, the immunohistochemical distribution of superoxide dismutase (SOD), activities of SOD and lipid peroxide concentrations were studied in the human endometrium throughout the menstrual cycle and in early pregnancy. The endometrial epithelium showed a positive immunostaining for Cu, Zn-SO...

Endometriosis (EM) is one of the most common diseases which severely affect the health and reproductive function of women of childbearing age. There are fundamental abnormal changes within the eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis compared to normal endometrium of women without endometriosis. Eutopic endometrium shows enhanced ability of proliferation, implantation and angiogenesis, a...

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common estrogen-dependent gynecological malignancy in the developed World. To investigate the local formation of estradiol (E2), we first measured the concentrations of the steroid precursor androstenedione (A-dione) and the most potent estrogen, E2, and we evaluated the metabolism of A-dione, estrone-sulfate (E1-S), and estrone (E1) in cancerous and adjacent...

Synchronous with massive shifts in reproductive hormones, the uterus and its lining the endometrium expand to accommodate a growing fetus during pregnancy. In the absence of an embryo the endometrium, composed of epithelium and stroma, undergoes numerous hormonally regulated cycles of breakdown and regeneration. The hormonally mediated regenerative capacity of the endometrium suggests that sign...

The aim of the present study was to determine the expression profile of the hedgehog (Hh) signaling molecules in normal, hyperplastic, and carcinomatous uterine endometrium. For this purpose, 271 endometrial tissue samples, (62 of normal endometrium, 127 of endometrial hyperplasias, and 82 endometrial adenocarcinomas) were studied using antibodies recognizing Hh-related signaling proteins, such...

BACKGROUND The presence of regulatory T (Treg) cells in human endometrium is crucial for maintaining immunological homeostasis within the uterus. For this study we decided to evaluate the subpopulations of Treg cells in conditions where a disturbance in the immunological equilibrium in ectopic endometrium and decidua has been observed, such as in cases of ovarian endometriosis (involving local ...

Background: Endometriosis is a gynecological disease associated with severe pelvic pain and infertility. Immunological changes that occur in patients with endometriosis include reduced natural killer cell and T-lymphocyte cytotoxicity in the peritoneal fluid, and an elevated number of activated macrophages. MIF via its receptor, CD74, initiates a signaling cascade that leads to proliferation an...

OBJECTIVE To determine if power Doppler ultrasound examination of the endometrium can contribute to a correct diagnosis of endometrial malignancy in women with postmenopausal bleeding and endometrium > or = 5 mm. METHODS Eighty-three women with postmenopausal bleeding and endometrium > or = 5 mm underwent gray-scale and power Doppler ultrasound examination using predetermined, standardized se...