Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Rogers, P. A.W.
Right arrow Articles by Affandi, B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Rogers, P. A.W.
Right arrow Articles by Affandi, B.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Human Reproduction, Vol. 15, No. suppl_3, pp. 152-161, 2000
© 2000 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Bcl-2, Fas and caspase 3 expression in endometrium from levonorgestrel implant users with and without breakthrough bleeding

Peter A.W. Rogers1,3, Fiona Lederman1, Debbie Plunkett1 and Biran Affandi2

1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Monash Medical Centre 246 Clayton Road, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty Medicine, University of Indonesia Jakarta 10430, Indonesia

Correspondence: 3To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Monash Medical Centre, 246 Clayton Road, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia. E-mail: peter.rogers{at}med.monash.edu.au

Women using the progestin-only contraceptive Norplant® often suffer from unpredictable bouts of breakthrough bleeding, which usually occurs from a thin atrophic endometrium. The role of cellular apoptosis in the endometrial response to Norplant has not been investigated. The aim of the present study was to use immunohistochemistry to produce semi-quantitative scores for expression of the apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2, Fas and caspase 3 in endometrium from 16 controls and 42 women using Norplant with minimal or major breakthrough bleeding problems. The results showed no difference in endometrial immunostaining for any of the three proteins between Norplant users with and without breakthrough bleeding. There was also no evidence of endometrial endothelial cell immunostaining for any of the proteins. Bcl-was the only protein to show a cyclical pattern, with higher expression in the proliferative compared to secretory glands. All three proteins showed different expression levels in control functionalis versus basalis, with the survival protein Bcl-2 being higher in basalis, and the death receptor Fas and the proteolytic enzyme caspase 3 being higher in the functionalis. Overall, the results suggest that apoptosis is regulated differently in functionalis compared to basalis, and that atrophic Norplant-exposed endometrium appears more like functionalis than basalis with respect to expression of Fas and caspase 3. There was no evidence for a role for apoptosis in the mechanisms that underlie progestininduced endometrial breakthrough bleeding.

Key words: Bcl-2/caspase 3/endometrium/Fas/Norplant


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Hum Reprod UpdateHome page
T. Harada, A. Kaponis, T. Iwabe, F. Taniguchi, G. Makrydimas, N. Sofikitis, M. Paschopoulos, E. Paraskevaidis, and N. Terakawa
Apoptosis in human endometrium and endometriosis
Hum. Reprod. Update, January 1, 2004; 10(1): 29 - 38.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.