ABSTRACT
AIM: As a treatment for tubal infertility, falloposcopic tuboplasty (FT) is one of the options for patients who wish to conceive naturally. Based on the results of FT, we propose an appropriate time of transitioning to assisted reproductive technology (ART) for tubal infertility. OBJECTS AND METHODS: We examined the outcomes of cases of tubal infertility during the period from June 1999 through March 2021 who were performed tuboplasty at our hospital using the FT catheter system under laparoscopy. RESULTS: The number of treated cases was 828. There were 243 cases of endometriosis and 119 cases of genital chlamydial infection. By FT, 712 cases (86.0%) were successfully recanalized. Of the 712 cases, 189 conceived naturally (26.5%) and miscarriages were 23 cases (12.2%), ectopic pregnancies were 8 cases (4.2%). The mean duration from FT to pregnancy was 6.5 months in natural pregnancy group, 90% of them were pregnant within 14 months. In endometriosis cases, the pregnancy rate after FT did not change significantly among clinical stage. CONCLUSIONS: Even when the fallopian tube was recanalized by FT, if the couple is unable to conceive naturally, they had better to consider switching to ART at about 14 months. When the couples with endometriosis consider switching to ART, we suggest deciding without considering the rASRM stage.
ABSTRACT
Tissue Factor (TF), the initiator of the extrinsic coagulation cascade, is overexpressed in a variety of cancers. TF is also expressed in normal human endometrium but little is known about its expression or regulation in endometrial cancer. We demonstrate herein that TF is expressed in the endometrial adenocarcinoma cell line Ishikawa. Furthermore, epidermal growth factor (EGF) induces a rapid and sustained increase in TF expression. Estradiol and progesterone had no effect on basal or EGF-induced TF expression in Ishikawa cells. In contrast to the pronounced and sustained upregulation at the protein level, EGF treatment elicited only a modest and transient increase in TF mRNA levels. This activity corresponded to the response observed from an exogenous TF promoter construct. However, the induction of TF was abrogated by cycloheximide as well as actinomycin-D, inhibitors or protein- and mRNA-synthesis, respectively, demonstrating that EGF mediates its effect through activation of the TF gene. Fractionation experiments showed that EGF increases TF presence in caveolin-I containing membrane fractions. Coagulation and invasion assays were used to explore the physiological implications of TF regulation. The results demonstrate that EGF-mediated induction of TF increases the procoagulant activity and invasive potential of Ishikawa cells. Furthermore, immunocytochemistry confirmed that TF is regulated by EGF in primary cultures of normal endometrial epithelial cells and malignant tumor cells. In conclusion, EGF-mediated upregulation of TF results in accumulation of this glycoprotein in caveolae-like membrane fractions and increased coagulative and invasive potential. Our results suggest that TF may play an integral role in endometrial carcinogenesis.
Subject(s)
Endometrial Neoplasms/metabolism , Endometrium/metabolism , Epidermal Growth Factor/metabolism , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Thromboplastin/metabolism , Adenocarcinoma/metabolism , Anticoagulants/pharmacology , Blotting, Western , Cell Line, Tumor , Cells, Cultured , Coagulants/metabolism , Cycloheximide/pharmacology , Dactinomycin/pharmacology , Detergents/pharmacology , Endometrium/cytology , Endometrium/pathology , Estradiol/metabolism , Female , Glycoproteins/metabolism , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors/pharmacology , Octoxynol/pharmacology , Progesterone/metabolism , Promoter Regions, Genetic , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Sucrose/pharmacology , Time Factors , Transfection , Ultracentrifugation , Up-RegulationABSTRACT
The relationship between an RF magnetic field and an electric shielding plate called a bridge in a bridged loop-gap resonator (BLGR), which is used for EPR spectroscopy and imaging, is examined. The magnetic field in a BLGR is perturbed due to discontinuity of the conductive loop and electric fringing fields near the gaps. The magnetic field homogeneity in the BLGR can be improved with a bridge. The optimum angle for such bridges can be found by measuring the RF magnetic field. In this study, the RF magnetic field was measured for BLGRs 70 mm in diameter, with a resonance frequency of 302 +/- 5 MHz. The field uniformity on a circle with a radius of 27 mm was improved by 8% with bridges at optimal angles. Improved RF magnetic field homogeneity associated with a BLGR is demonstrated.
