Reproduction Abstracts

Introduction: Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent inflammatory disorder, associated with debilitating pelvic pain. We believe the pain is due to neuroinflammation: growth of sensory neurons and their subsequent hypersensitisation by macrophage-derived cytokines within the lesion. We explored the regulation of neuroinflammation by estrogen receptor (ER) modulators.Materials and methods: Peritoneum and lesions were collected from women with and without ...

The endometrium plays a central role in fertility and pregnancy. It undergoes changes in function and histological morphology over the oestrus cycle, driven by dynamic changes in progesterone and oestrogen. To understand the changes resulting from elevated oestrogen levels around oestrus, we profiled the transcriptome of the bovine uterus. Endometrial tissue was collected from synchronized beef heifers in six cohorts: i) 12 h after controlled intravaginal progesterone-releasin...

Introduction: Since progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) and PGRMC2 are highly expressed in the uterus, this study was designed to evaluate the impact of Pgrmc2 and Pgrmc1/2 deficiency on female fertility and uterine epithelial cell proliferation.Materials and methods: Uterine PGRMC2 and Ki67 expression were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Mutagenesis studies were completed in which Pgr-cre was used to conditio...

Introduction: Mouse endometrium undergoes extensive postpartum remodeling. To accomplish the extensive cellular turnover processes, we hypothesize that the endometrial cells with quiescent properties (stem/progenitors) are involved in the regeneration of the tissue after parturition.Methods: Prepubertal C57BL/6J female mice were labeled with BrdU, followed by a chase period of up to 11 weeks. Mice in the remodeling group were mated and sacrificed at gest...

Introduction: Uterine natural killer (uNK) cells have a largely recognised role in normal uterine function, particular successful pregnancy. We have previously found that infertile women have more uNK progenitor cells than fertile women. We aim to study the differentiation of uNK cells in women with endometriosis.Material and methods: Numbers and phenotype of uNKs (CD45+, CD56+, CD3+, and CD16−) were defined using flow cytometry: CD10, CD34, CD94, ...