Department of Biology and Environmental Protection, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Rokietnicka 8, 60-806 Poznań, Poland.
Department of Mother׳s and Child׳s Health, Gynecologic and Obstetrical University Hospital, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland.
Environ Res. 2014 Jul;132:328-33. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2014.04.025. Epub 2014 May 14.
Human endometrium is a thick, blood vessel-rich, glandular tissue which undergoes cyclic changes and is potentially sensitive to the various endogenous and exogenous compounds supplied via the hematogenous route. As recently indicated, several metals including Cd, Pb, Cr and Ni represent an emerging class of potential metalloestrogens and can be implicated in alterations of the female reproductive system including endometriosis and cancer. In the present study, we investigated the content of five metals: Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn in 25 samples of human endometrium collected from Polish females undergoing diagnostic or therapeutic curettage of the uterine cavity. The overall mean metal concentration (analyzed using microwave induced plasma atomic emission spectrometry MIP-OES) decreased in the following order: Cr>Pb>Zn>Ni>Cd. For the first time it was demonstrated that cigarette smoking significantly increases the endometrial content of Cd and Pb. Concentration of these metals was also positively correlated with years of smoking and the number of smoked cigarettes. Tissue samples with recognized histologic lesions (simple hyperplasia, polyposis and atrophy) were characterized by a 2-fold higher Cd level. No relation between the age of the women and metal content was found. Our study shows that human endometrium can be a potential target of metal accumulation within the human body. Quantitative analyses of endometrial metal content could serve as an additional indicator of potential impairments of the menstrual cycle and fertility.
人类子宫内膜是一种富含血管和腺体的组织，它会经历周期性变化，并且可能对通过血液途径提供的各种内源性和外源性化合物敏感。最近有研究表明，包括 Cd、Pb、Cr 和 Ni 在内的几种金属代表了一类新兴的潜在金属雌激素，可能与女性生殖系统的改变有关，包括子宫内膜异位症和癌症。在本研究中，我们调查了 25 例来自波兰女性的子宫内膜样本中的五种金属（Cd、Cr、Ni、Pb 和 Zn）含量，这些女性因诊断或治疗性刮宫而接受了子宫腔的治疗。使用微波诱导等离子体原子发射光谱法（MIP-OES）分析的总体平均金属浓度按以下顺序降低：Cr>Pb>Zn>Ni>Cd。这是首次证明吸烟会显著增加子宫内膜中 Cd 和 Pb 的含量。这些金属的浓度也与吸烟年限和吸烟数量呈正相关。有明确组织学病变（单纯性增生、息肉和萎缩）的组织样本的 Cd 水平是正常样本的两倍。我们未发现金属含量与女性年龄之间存在相关性。我们的研究表明，人类子宫内膜可能是人体内金属积累的潜在靶标。子宫内膜金属含量的定量分析可以作为月经周期和生育能力潜在损害的附加指标。
