Concentration of endometrial protein PP14 in uterine flushings throughout the menstrual cycle in normal, fertile women.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the variation in concentration of endometrial protein PP14 in uterine flushings throughout the menstrual cycle comparing this to concentrations in plasma samples.

DESIGN

Precise timing of all samples by the luteinising hormone surge.

SETTING

Jessop Hospital for Women, Sheffield.

SUBJECTS

Twenty-three regularly cycling, previously fertile volunteer women.

INTERVENTIONS

Observational study; 10 ml of physiological saline was used to flush the uterine cavity once or serially in the cycle of the study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The measurement of PP14 levels by radioimmunoassay in uterine flushings and plasma samples.

RESULTS

In uterine flushing, PP14 levels were not detectable in significant amounts in the proliferative phase and the early luteal phase; after day LH + 6, the concentration rises rapidly with a doubling time of only 6.6 to 14.6 h in the midluteal phase. In the late luteal phase, the concentrations in uterine flushing were over a hundred times higher than the corresponding plasma samples.

CONCLUSIONS

The measurement of PP14 in uterine flushings is likely to be of greater value than the measurement in plasma samples; it may provide a valuable alternative to the evaluation of endometrial function.