Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maistrasse 11, 80337 Munich, Germany.
Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2010 Nov 19;8:143. doi: 10.1186/1477-7827-8-143.
Inhibins are important regulators of the female reproductive system. Recently, two new inhibin subunits betaC and betaE have been described, although it is unclear if they are synthesized in normal human endometrium.
Samples of human endometrium were obtained from 82 premenopausal, non-pregnant patients undergoing gynecological surgery for benign diseases. Endometrium samples were classified according to anamnestic and histological dating into proliferative (day 1-14, n = 46), early secretory (day 15-22, n = 18) and late secretory phase (day 23-28, n = 18). Immunohistochemical analyses were performed with specific antibodies against inhibin alpha (n = 81) as well as inhibin betaA (n = 82), betaB (n = 82), betaC (n = 74) and betaE (n = 76) subunits. RT-PCR was performed for all inhibin subunits. Correlation was assessed with the Spearman factor to assess the relationship of inhibin-subunits expression within the different endometrial samples.
The novel inhibin betaC and betaE subunits were found in normal human endometrium by immunohistochemical and molecular techniques. Inhibin alpha, betaA, betaB and betaE subunits showed a circadian expression pattern, being more abundant during the late secretory phase than during the proliferative phase. Additionally, a significant correlation between inhibin alpha and all inhibin beta subunits was observed.
The differential expression pattern of the betaC- and betaE-subunits in normal human endometrial tissue suggests that they function in endometrial maturation and blastocyst implantation. However, the precise role of these novel inhibin/activin subunits in human endometrium is unclear and warrants further investigation.
抑制素是女性生殖系统的重要调节因子。最近，已经描述了两种新的抑制素亚基βC 和 βE，尽管尚不清楚它们是否在正常的人类子宫内膜中合成。
从 82 名因良性疾病接受妇科手术的绝经前非妊娠患者中获得人子宫内膜样本。根据病史和组织学日期将子宫内膜样本分为增生期（第 1-14 天，n=46）、早期分泌期（第 15-22 天，n=18）和晚期分泌期（第 23-28 天，n=18）。使用针对抑制素α（n=81）以及抑制素βA（n=82）、βB（n=82）、βC（n=74）和βE（n=76）亚基的特异性抗体进行免疫组织化学分析。对所有抑制素亚基进行 RT-PCR。使用 Spearman 因子评估相关性，以评估不同子宫内膜样本中抑制素亚基表达的关系。
通过免疫组织化学和分子技术在正常人类子宫内膜中发现了新型抑制素βC 和 βE 亚基。抑制素α、βA、βB 和βE 亚基表现出昼夜表达模式，在晚期分泌期比在增生期更为丰富。此外，还观察到抑制素α与所有抑制素β亚基之间存在显著相关性。
βC-和βE-亚基在正常人类子宫内膜组织中的差异表达模式表明它们在子宫内膜成熟和胚泡植入中起作用。然而，这些新型抑制素/激活素亚基在人类子宫内膜中的确切作用尚不清楚，需要进一步研究。
