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Immunohistochemical analysis of collagen expression in human corpora lutea during the menstrual cycle and early pregnancy.

Iwahashi M, Muragaki Y, Ooshima A, Umesaki N

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan. masaaki@wakayama-med.ac.jp

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristic structure and function of human corpora lutea (CL), various types of collagen expression were determined in the CL tissues during the menstrual cycle and early pregnancy. DESIGN: In vitro experiment. SETTING: Department of obstetrics and gynecology at a medical university. PATIENT(S): Regulatory cycling women and pregnant women with ovarian tumor and ectopic pregnancy who underwent adnexectomy. INTERVENTION(S): Immunohistochemistry for human type I, III, and IV collagen with specific monoclonal antibodies was used for analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Expression of type I, III, and IV collagen. RESULT(S): Immunohistochemical staining for type I and III collagen revealed intense staining of the CL stroma during early pregnancy, as compared with those in the menstrual cycle. Moreover, pericellular intense immunostaining for type IV collagen was observed around the luteal cells, especially luteal granulosa cells, of early pregnancy. CONCLUSION(S): These results suggest that alterations in distribution of collagen might play an important role in determining the physiology and structure of the CL during the menstrual cycle and early pregnancy.

Published 17 April 2006 in Fertil Steril, 85: 1093-6.
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