Figure 1.

Constitutive production of Trappin-2/Elafin by epithelial cells of the female reproductive tract. (a) Primary uterine (UT), Fallopian tube (FT), cervical (Cx) and ectocervical (Ecx) epithelial cells were isolated from four patients and cultured until confluence and high transepithelial resistance (TER) was reached (with the exception of Ecx cells, which do not polarize). RNA was extracted from the cells and real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to determine the relative expression levels of Trappin-2/Elafin. After normalization to endogenous control β-actin, each patient sample was further calibrated to Ecx cells, which typically produced low levels of Trappin-2/Elafin. The data are shown relative to Ecx, which was set at 1. Generally, FT cells produced significantly higher levels of Trappin-2/Elafin mRNA compared with Cx, Ecx and UT cells. All values twofold higher or lower were considered to be significant. (b) After 24 hr, accumulation of constitutive apical and basolateral conditioned media was collected from female reproductive tract (FRT) epithelial cells from patients and assayed for Trappin-2/Elafin protein secretion by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). An average of three to five patients per each tissue is shown. Significantly higher levels of constitutive Trappin-2/Elafin secretion were observed in the fallopian tube epithelial cells (FTEC) compared with UT, Cx and Ecx cells. The P-values were calculated using analysis of variance (anova); ***significantly greater than control, P < 0·001.