Human Reproduction, Vol. 14, No. 10, 2485-2492,
October 1999
© 1999 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
A quantitative evaluation of 
1, 4, V and ß3 endometrial integrins of fertile and unexplained infertile women during the menstrual cycle. A flow cytometric appraisal
1 Institute of Maternal and Child Research (IDIMI), School Of Medicine, University Of Chile, `San Borja Arriaran' Clinical Hospital, and 2 Department Of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
The expression of integrin molecules 
1ß1, 4ß1 and Vß3 within endometrial tissue has been proposed as a marker of uterine receptivity during the implantation window. The present investigation examines by flow cytometric analysis the concentrations of 1, 4, V and ß3 integrin subunits in endometrial stromal (ESC) and epithelial cells (EEC) in two groups of women throughout the menstrual cycle: normal fertile women (n = 27) and women with unexplained infertility (n = 26). Integrin concentrations in endometrial cells were calculated in relative fluorescence units against a negative cellular control. The assessment of integrin subunits detected the protein in ESC and EEC from the late proliferative to the late secretory phase. In both groups of women, the 1 was the highest integrin expressed in ESC and EEC throughout the menstrual cycle. All women exhibited low concentrations of 4-EEC at the time of the implantation window. Infertile women expressed lower concentrations of the 4-ESC during the proliferative and early secretory phase while lower concentrations of the 1-ESC were seen during the late secretory phase. Interestingly, the infertile women expressed lower concentrations of ß3-EEC in the early, mid-secretory and late secretory phases (P < 0.05). Infertile women also expressed lower concentrations of 1-EEC and V-EEC during the late secretory phase (P < 0.05). It can be concluded that the quantitative determination of ß3-EEC by flow cytometry confirmed its potential feature as a marker of endometrial receptivity at the time of the implantation window. In addition, the defective expression of the 1-ESC found in the late secretory phase might be associated with the poor fertility outcome of women with unexplained infertility.
Key words: endometrial receptivity/endometrial stromal– epithelial cells/flow cytometry/integrins/unexplained infertility
3 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: PO Box 226–3, IDIMI, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
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