ABSTRACT
Objective To detect the frequency and tissue distribution pattern of inhibin subunits in normal endometrium and periph-eral blood, and investigate the precise action in endometrium. Methods Normal cndometrial tissues were obtained from 16 women in the proliferative phase with salpingo-infertility, 11 women in the early secretory phase and 17 women in the late secretory phase with cervical cancer from Jan to Dee 2006. Expression of INH subunits were detected by immunohistochcmistry. INH-B in the blood samples were detec-ted. None of patients took any steroid drugs before 6 months of giving the samples. Results Immunohistochemistry showed that INH sub-units expressed in normal endometrial tissues. The expression intensity of INH subunits gradually increased in different menstrual phases. The level of inhibin-B in proliferative phase was higher than that in late secretory phase. Conclusions The relationship of inhibin-B level in serum and expression of inhibin subunits in endometrium showed that inhibin could be involved in autocrine/paracrine signaling and contrib-ute to several aspects of endometrial maturation.