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Human Reproduction, Vol. 11, No. suppl_2, pp. 134-143, 1996
© 1996 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Regulation and restricted expression of interstitial collagenase suggest a pivotal role in the initiation of menstruation

E. Marbaix1,3,5, I. Kokorine1,2, J. Donnez4, Y. Eeckhout2 and P. J. Courtoy1

1 Cell Biology Unit, International Institute of Cellular and Molecular Pathology and University of Louvain Medical School Avenue Hippocrate 75 2 Connective Tissue Group, International Institute of Cellular and Molecular Pathology and University of Louvain Medical School Avenue Hippocrate 75 3 Departments of Pathology, University Clinics Saint Luc Avenue Hippocrate 10, B-1200 Bruxelles, Belgium 4 Departments of Gynaecology, University Clinics Saint Luc Avenue Hippocrate 10, B-1200 Bruxelles, Belgium

Correspondence: 5To whom correspondence should be addressed

Collagenases are the only mammalian enzymes able to cleave, at neutral pH, the triple helical domain of fibrillar collagens, major constituents of the extracellular matrix of the endometrium. Interstitial eollagenase is expressed, secreted and activated in human endometrium only just before and during menstruation. The expression of interstitial eollagenase is restricted to the areas of the functional layer of the endometrium which are breaking down and to fragments which have been shed. In endometrial explants, combined sex steroids tightly control the expression, secretion and activation of interstitial eollagenase, as well as the preservation of the extracellular matrix. These observations imply a pivotal role for this proteinase in the initiation of menstruation.

Key words: human endometrium/interstitial colla-genase/matrix metalloproteinase-1/menstruation/sex steroids


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