1995 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Apoptosis in female genital organs-the relation between bcl-2 protein and hormone receptor
| Project/Area Number |
06671696
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
Obstetrics and gynecology
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| Research Institution | Osaka Medical College |
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Principal Investigator |
OTSUKI Yoshinori Osaka Medical College, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (50140166)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TUJIMOTO Yoshihide Osaka University College, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (70132735)
AKAO Yukihiro Osaka Medical College, Associate Professor, 医学部, 助教授 (00222505)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1994 – 1995
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| Keywords | Apoptosis / Endometrium / bcl-2 / ER / PgR / Menstruation |
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| Research Abstract |
Menses is generally regarded as ischemic necrosis of functional layr caused by contraction of spiral arteries, depending on sexual hormone levels. The recent electron-microscopic study, however, demonstrated the presence of apoptotic bodies mainly in the late secretory phase. It is well known that bcl-2 has an ability to block apoptosis in various cell lineages. Therefore, uterine endometrium is an attractive tissue for studying roles of bcl-2 protein during tissue reconstruction and also regulation of bcl-2 expression by hormones. This study was designed to clarify the distribution of bcl-2 protein in human uterine samples throughout menstrual cycle, in comparison with the distribution of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PgR), and a role of bcl-2 protein in the modulation of apoptosis during menstruation. Uterine samples were collected from 21 women undergoing hysterectomy with informed consent and were obtained from the fundus within the uterine cavity and examined via immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis for bcl-2 protein, ER and PgR.Bcl-2 protein was observed in human endometrial glandular, stromal and myometrial smooth muscle cells. Especially, glandular cells expressed bcl-2 protein at proliferative through early secretory phases but not at late secretory through menstrual phases. This cyclic expression of bcl-2 was similar to that of ER or PgR ; bcl-2 expression in glandular cells may be regulated by ovarian hormones. The disappearance of bcl-2 expression in glandular cells at late secretory phase was ocnsistent with the appearance of apoptotic cells at the same phase. Therefore, bcl-2 protein may play an important role in the modulation of apoptosis during menstruation.
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