Ratajczak Weronika, Łazowska Malwina, Laszczyńska Maria, Rył Aleksandra, Lubkowska Anna, Zimny Małgorzta, Kram Andrzej, Sipak Olimpia
Department of Functional Diagnostics and Physical Medicine, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland.
Department of Perinatology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland.
Histol Histopathol. 2025 May;40(5):653-667. doi: 10.14670/HH-18-819. Epub 2024 Sep 23.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphology (atrophy and fibrosis), apopto-sis, and cell proliferation in the uterine wall. The research material came from postmenopausal women who had undergone hysterectomy due to uterine myomas or prolapse of the reproductive organ and were not taking menopausal hormone therapy (MTH).
The collected material was divided into three groups. Group I (n=18) con-sisted of uterine sections taken 1 to 5 years after the last menstruation, Group II (n=17) 6 to 10 years after the last menstruation, and Group III (n=15) over 11 years after the last menstruation. To assess morphology and fibrosis, the uterine sections were subjected to hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining and to Mallory's staining. In addition, we performed a histochemical examination to identify apopto-sis in endometrial and myometrial cells using the TUNEL method. An immunohistochemical analysis of endometrial and myometrial cells was also performed to detect the location of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA).
Differences in apoptosis were only found in the myometrium between Group I and Group III, and were strongest in Group I myometrial cells, and weakest in Group III. Neither the endome-trium nor the myometrium showed statistically significant differences in the overall percentage of PCNA(+) cells between groups.
Morphological changes in the endometrial and myometrial layers of postmenopausal uteri increased with time since the last menstruation.
本研究旨在评估子宫壁的形态（萎缩和纤维化）、细胞凋亡及细胞增殖情况。研究材料来自因子宫肌瘤或生殖器官脱垂而接受子宫切除术且未接受绝经激素治疗（MHT）的绝经后女性。
收集的材料分为三组。第一组（n = 18）由末次月经后1至5年获取的子宫切片组成，第二组（n = 17）为末次月经后6至10年的子宫切片，第三组（n = 15）是末次月经后超过11年的子宫切片。为评估形态和纤维化情况，对子宫切片进行苏木精-伊红（HE）染色及马洛里染色。此外，我们采用TUNEL法进行组织化学检查以鉴定子宫内膜和肌层细胞中的凋亡情况。还对子宫内膜和肌层细胞进行免疫组织化学分析以检测增殖细胞核抗原（PCNA）的定位。
仅在第一组和第三组的肌层中发现凋亡差异，且在第一组肌层细胞中最为明显，在第三组中最不明显。各组之间，子宫内膜和肌层中PCNA（+）细胞的总体百分比均未显示出统计学上的显著差异。
绝经后子宫的子宫内膜和肌层形态学变化随末次月经后的时间增加而增加。
