Expression of nodal signalling components in cycling human endometrium and in endometrial cancer
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Expression of nodal signalling components in cycling human endometrium and in endometrial cancer Irene Papageorgiou1,2, Peter K Nicholls1,3, Fang Wang1, Martin Lackmann3, Yogeshwar Makanji1,2, Lois A Salamonsen1, David M Robertson1 and Craig A Harrison*1 Address: 1Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research, 246 Clayton Road, Clayton, Vic 3168, Australia, 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Monash University, Clayton, Vic 3168, Australia and 3Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Vic 3168, Australia Email: Irene Papageorgiou - [email protected]; Peter K Nicholls - [email protected]; Fang Wang - [email protected]; Martin Lackmann - [email protected]; Yogeshwar Makanji - [email protected]; Lois A Salamonsen - [email protected]; David M Robertson - [email protected]; Craig A Harrison* - [email protected] * Corresponding author
Published: 29 October 2009 Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 2009, 7:122
doi:10.1186/1477-7827-7-122
Received: 14 August 2009 Accepted: 29 October 2009
This article is available from: http://www.rbej.com/content/7/1/122 © 2009 Papageorgiou et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract Background: The human endometrium is unique in its capacity to remodel constantly throughout adult reproductive life. Although the processes of tissue damage and breakdown in the endometrium have been well studied, little is known of how endometrial regeneration is achieved after menstruation. Nodal, a member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily, regulates the processes of pattern formation and differentiation that occur during early embryo development. Methods: In this study, the expression of Nodal, Cripto (co-receptor) and Lefty A (antagonist) was examined by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry across the menstrual cycle and in endometrial carcinomas. Results: Nodal and Cripto were found to be expressed at high levels in both stromal and epithelial cells during the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle. Although immunoreactivity for both proteins in surface and glandular epithelium was maintained at relatively steady-state levels across the cycle, their expression was significantly decreased within the stromal compartment by the midsecretory phase. Lefty expression, as has previously been reported, was primarily restricted to glandular epithelium and surrounding stroma during the late secretory and menstrual phases. In line with recent studies that have shown that Nodal pathway activity is upregulated in many human cancers, we found that Nodal and Cripto immunoreactivity increased dramatically in the transition from histologic Grade
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