Figure 6. Overt bleeding in mice mimics the human menstrual cycle.

Comparison of the overtly bleeding mice presented here and the human menstrual cycle. The proestrus, with high levels of estrogen, might mimic the proliferative phase in humans. Induction of pseudopregnancy causes progesterone levels to increase in the same way as in the human secretory phase. The drop of progesterone induces bleeding between day 7 and day 10, which is comparable to menses. By day 12 tissue repair is well advanced, something which is also seen in the early proliferative phase. These processes are governed by differential expression of various genes. Genes that were expressed at a maximum at certain time points in overtly bleeding mice are listed. The vast majority of them are regulated similarly in mice and humans (for details see text).