Protein patterns of human uterine flushings collected at various stages of the menstrual cycle.

Uterine flushings and plasma collected from normal, parous women at various stages of the menstrual cycle were subjected to gel electrophoresis. The protein profiles of the flushings differed in many instances from the plasma pattern by the presence of between one and eleven non-plasma proteins. The distribution of the major non-plasma proteins during the menstrual cycle was not statistically significant but that of a pretransferrin, observed in uterine flushings and in peritoneal fluid, was significant. However, the appearance of this protein band could not be related to a particular phase of the cycle, and hence to a specific hormonal condition.

Concentrations of prostaglandins F2alpha and E2 in the endometrium throughout the human menstrual cycle, after the administration of clomiphene or an oestrogen-progestogen pill and in early pregnancy.

The concentrations of prostaglandins F2alpha (PGF) and E2 (PGE) were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in endometrial tissue obtained from 45 normal women at various stages of the menstrual cycle. During the proliferative stages, the concentration of PGF in the endometrium was correlated with the concentration of oestradiol in the plasma. The concentration of PGF during the mid-secretory stage (mean, 2.047, range, 0.549-4.344 microgram/g fresh endometrial tissue) was significantly higher than the concentrations during the late proliferative and late secretory stages. The endometrial concentration of PGE did not show a cyclic variation. The concentrations of PGF and PGE in samples of endometrium collected after the administration of clomiphene were significantly lower than the concentrations observed in endometrial tissue obtained from normally menstruating women in the mid-proliferative period. The administration of an oestrogen-progestogen pill resulted in higher endometrial concentrations of PGE than were measured in the mid-secretory phase. The concentrations of PGF and PGE in decidual tissue (conceptual age 3-10 weeks) were lower than those measured at any stage of the normal menstrual cycle. During the human menstrual cycle, high levels of oestradiol and progesterone are related to high endometrial levels of PGF but not PGE. The presence of a conceptus apparently blocks the effect of high concentrations of ovarian steroids on the synthesis or catabolism of prostaglandins.

Effect of human uterine flushings collected at various stages of the menstrual cycle on mouse blastocysts in vitro.

Mouse blastocysts were cultured in vitro in a defined medium supplemented with uterine flushings (containing 500 microgram protein/ml) obtained from normal women at various stages of the menstrual cycle. With one exception (uterine flushing collected on the last day of a menstrual period) blastocyst hatching and attachment were not impaired by flushings collected before or after ovulation.

Cyclic variation in concentrations of protein and hexose in human uterine flushings collected by an improved technique.

Uterine flushings were obtained from fertile women at various stages of the menstrual cycle. A technique was used which excluded contamination with cervical mucus and significantly lowered contamination with blood in comparison with an established technique. Contamination of the uterine flushings with seminal plasma and tubal fluid was also prevented. The concentrations of protein and hexose in the uterine flushings, corrected for contamination with plasma, were significantly lower in the secretory stages than in the proliferative stages of the cycle. It is concluded that proteins and carbohydrates are present within the uterine lumen not only after ovulation but also during the preovulatory period.

Cyclic changes in the concentration of prostaglandin F2alpha in human uterine flushings.

Prostaglandin F2alpha (PGF2alpha) was measured by radioimmunoassay in uterine flushings obtained from 41 women at various stages of the menstrual cycle. The concentration of PGF2alpha changed significantly during the cycle, with highest values in the mid secretory phase of the cycle (mean 9.1 ng/ml of uterine flushing, range 3.9 to 16.0 ng/ml, n = 9). The still unresolved role of intrauterine PGF2alpha is discussed in relation to luteolysis, myometrial contractility and implantation.