Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Clinical Pathology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Pathology
. 1997 Sep;50(9):755–759. doi: 10.1136/jcp.50.9.755

Effects of oestrogen on the extracellular matrix in the endometrium of postmenopausal women.

M Iwahashi 1, A Ooshima 1, R Nakano 1
PMCID: PMC500172  PMID: 9389976

Abstract

AIM: To obtain insight into the effects of oestrogen on extracellular matrix (ECM) in the postmenopausal endometrium. METHODS: The distribution of the components of the ECM, including collagen types I, III, IV, and VI, and laminin, was investigated in the human postmenopausal endometrium by an indirect immunofluorescence method with specific monoclonal antibodies and a polyclonal antibody. Collagens were also extracted from the endometrial tissues of postmenopausal women who had or had not been treated with oestrogen for three weeks. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that type I collagen was the predominant interstitial collagen, and that types III and VI collagens were absent or very sparsely distributed in the stroma of the postmenopausal endometrium. However, types I, III, and VI collagens were diffusely localised in the stroma of the postmenopausal endometrium after administration of oestrogen. Even though type IV collagen was not seen in the basement membrane of the endometrial glands in the endometrium of postmenopausal women in the absence of oestrogen treatment, both type IV collagen and laminin were localised exclusively in the basement membrane of the endometrial glands in the postmenopausal endometrium after three weeks of oestrogen treatment. The level of type III collagen relative to that of type I collagen was significantly increased (p < 0.01) in the endometrium of oestrogen treated postmenopausal women compared with non-treated postmenopausal women. CONCLUSIONS: Conjugated equine oestrogen might induce changes in the distribution of components and in the composition of the ECM in the endometrium of postmenopausal women.

Full text

PDF
755

Images in this article

756Image
on p.756
757Image
on p.757
758Image
on p.758

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aplin J. D., Charlton A. K., Ayad S. An immunohistochemical study of human endometrial extracellular matrix during the menstrual cycle and first trimester of pregnancy. Cell Tissue Res. 1988 Jul;253(1):231–240. doi: 10.1007/BF00221758. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bruns R. R., Press W., Engvall E., Timpl R., Gross J. Type VI collagen in extracellular, 100-nm periodic filaments and fibrils: identification by immunoelectron microscopy. J Cell Biol. 1986 Aug;103(2):393–404. doi: 10.1083/jcb.103.2.393. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Campbell J. H., Kocher O., Skalli O., Gabbiani G., Campbell G. R. Cytodifferentiation and expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin mRNA and protein during primary culture of aortic smooth muscle cells. Correlation with cell density and proliferative state. Arteriosclerosis. 1989 Sep-Oct;9(5):633–643. doi: 10.1161/01.atv.9.5.633. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Goodman L. V., Majack R. A. Vascular smooth muscle cells express distinct transforming growth factor-beta receptor phenotypes as a function of cell density in culture. J Biol Chem. 1989 Mar 25;264(9):5241–5244. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Halme T., Vihersaari T., Penttinen R. Lysyl oxidase activity and synthesis of desmosines in cultured human aortic cells and skin fibroblasts: comparison of cell lines from control subjects and patients with the Marfan syndrome or other annulo-aortic ectasia. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 1986 Feb;46(1):31–37. doi: 10.3109/00365518609086478. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Haralson M. A. Extracellular matrix and growth factors: an integrated interplay controlling tissue repair and progression to disease. Lab Invest. 1993 Oct;69(4):369–372. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Ishimura E., Sterzel R. B., Budde K., Kashgarian M. Formation of extracellular matrix by cultured rat mesangial cells. Am J Pathol. 1989 Apr;134(4):843–855. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Keene D. R., Engvall E., Glanville R. W. Ultrastructure of type VI collagen in human skin and cartilage suggests an anchoring function for this filamentous network. J Cell Biol. 1988 Nov;107(5):1995–2006. doi: 10.1083/jcb.107.5.1995. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Laemmli U. K. Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature. 1970 Aug 15;227(5259):680–685. doi: 10.1038/227680a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lermioglu F., Goyal J., Hassid A. Cell density modulates the decrease of cytosolic free Ca2+ induced by atrial natriuretic hormone, S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine and 8-bromo cyclic GMP in cultured rat mesangial cells. Biochem J. 1991 Mar 1;274(Pt 2):323–328. doi: 10.1042/bj2740323. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lin C. Q., Bissell M. J. Multi-faceted regulation of cell differentiation by extracellular matrix. FASEB J. 1993 Jun;7(9):737–743. doi: 10.1096/fasebj.7.9.8330681. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Madri J. A., Basson M. D. Extracellular matrix-cell interactions: dynamic modulators of cell, tissue and organism structure and function. Lab Invest. 1992 May;66(5):519–521. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Majors A. K., Ehrhart L. A. Cell density and proliferation modulate collagen synthesis and procollagen mRNA levels in arterial smooth muscle cells. Exp Cell Res. 1992 May;200(1):168–174. doi: 10.1016/s0014-4827(05)80085-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Martinez-Hernandez A., Amenta P. S. The basement membrane in pathology. Lab Invest. 1983 Jun;48(6):656–677. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. McCullagh K. A., Balian G. Collagen characterisation and cell transformation in human atherosclerosis. Nature. 1975 Nov 6;258(5530):73–75. doi: 10.1038/258073a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Mulholland J., Aplin J. D., Ayad S., Hong L., Glasser S. R. Loss of collagen type VI from rat endometrial stroma during decidualization. Biol Reprod. 1992 Jun;46(6):1136–1143. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod46.6.1136. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Ooshima A. Collagen alpha B chain: increased proportion in human atherosclerosis. Science. 1981 Aug 7;213(4508):666–668. doi: 10.1126/science.7256267. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Ooshima A., Muragaki Y. Collagen metabolism in atherogenesis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1990;598:582–584. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1990.tb42355.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Patton W. F., Yoon M. U., Alexander J. S., Chung-Welch N., Hechtman H. B., Shepro D. Expression of simple epithelial cytokeratins in bovine pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells. J Cell Physiol. 1990 Apr;143(1):140–149. doi: 10.1002/jcp.1041430119. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Rösner H., Greis C., Rodemann H. P. Density-dependent expression of ganglioside GM3 by human skin fibroblasts in an all-or-none fashion, as a possible modulator of cell growth in vitro. Exp Cell Res. 1990 Oct;190(2):161–169. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(90)90180-i. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Sykes B., Puddle B., Francis M., Smith R. The estimation of two collagens from human dermis by interrupted gel electrophoresis. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1976 Oct 18;72(4):1472–1480. doi: 10.1016/s0006-291x(76)80180-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Tsonis P. A., Goetinck P. F. Cell density dependent effect of a tumor promoter on proliferation and chondrogenesis of limb bud mesenchymal cells. Exp Cell Res. 1990 Oct;190(2):247–253. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(90)90193-e. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wewer U. M., Faber M., Liotta L. A., Albrechtsen R. Immunochemical and ultrastructural assessment of the nature of the pericellular basement membrane of human decidual cells. Lab Invest. 1985 Dec;53(6):624–633. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Wolthuis A., Boes A., Grond J. Cell density modulates growth, extracellular matrix, and protein synthesis of cultured rat mesangial cells. Am J Pathol. 1993 Oct;143(4):1209–1219. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Pathology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES