[Pseudocarcinomatous hyperplasia of the fallopian tube: a clinicopathological analysis of sixteen cases].

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features, diagnosis and differential diagnosis of pseudocarcinomatous hyperplasia of the fallopian tubes. Methods: Sixteen cases of pseudocarcinomatous hyperplasia of the fallopian tubes diagnosed at Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University from January 2011 to January 2024 were collected.The pathological sections were reviewed, the clinical and pathological data were consulted, and immunohistochemical examination was conducted along with follow-up. Results: The patients were aged from 19 to 57 years, with an average age of 41 and a median age of 38. Among the 16 cases, 4 were located in the right fallopian tubes, 6 in the left fallopian tubes, while the remaining cases presented bilaterally. The general manifestations were tubal edema, crispness and purulent secretion in the lumen. Morphologically, the fallopian tube mucosa exhibited a significant infiltration of neutrophils, lymphocytes and plasma cells. The epithelial cells of the fallopian tube displayed evident proliferation, stratification and disorganized arrangement leading to formation of small glandular cavity with back-to-back, fissure-like and sieve-like structures. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed positivity for CK7 and WT1, along with wild-type p53 expression, Ki-67 index ranged from 5% to 20%. During the follow-up period ranging from 1 to 156 months, all the patients remained free of disease. Conclusions: Pseudocarcinomatous hyperplasia of the fallopian tube is a rare non-neoplastic lesion, which can lead to epithelial hyperplasia and atypical hyperplasia. The most important significance of recognizing this lesion lies in avoiding misdiagnosis of fallopian tube cancer during intraoperative and postoperative pathological examination. This ensures that clinicians can administer correct clinical interventions.

Fallopian tubal infertility: the result of Chlamydia trachomatis-induced fallopian tubal fibrosis.

Chlamydia trachomatis is one of the most common pathogens of sexually transmitted diseases, and its incidence in genital tract infections is now 4.7% in south China. Infertility is the end result of C. trachomatis-induced fallopian tubal fibrosis and is receiving intense attention from scientists worldwide. To reduce the incidence of infertility, it is important to understand the pathology-related changes of the genital tract where C. trachomatis infection is significant, especially the mechanism of fibrosis formation. During fibrosis development, the fallopian tube becomes sticky and occluded, which will eventually lead to tubal infertility. At present, the mechanism of fallopian tubal fibrosis induced by C. trachomatis infection is unclear. Our study attempted to summarize the possible mechanisms of fibrosis caused by C. trachomatis infection in the fallopian tube by reviewing published studies and further providing potential therapeutic targets to reduce the occurrence of infertility. This study also provides ideas for future research. Factors leading to fallopian tube fibrosis include inflammatory factors, miRNA, ECT, cHSP, and host factors. We hypothesized that C. trachomatis mediates the transcription and translation of EMT and ECM via upregulating TGF signaling pathway, which leads to the formation of fallopian tube fibrosis and ultimately to tubal infertility.

Integrated analysis of mRNA and protein expression profiling in tubal endometriosis.

Tubal endometriosis (tubal EM) is a subtype of endometriosis (EM) associated with fallopian tube impairments and infertility. Since the molecular mechanism underlying tubal EM is not clear, we assume that an aberrant transcriptome of fallopian tube epithelium and microenvironment changes caused by cytokines in tubal fluid are possible causes. The aim of this study was to identify potential hub mRNAs/proteins of tubal EM through integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analyses and to elucidate significant pathways, cellular functions, and interaction networks during the initiation and progression of tubal EM. We obtained human fallopian tube epithelium and tubal fluid samples from patients with and without tubal EM. Tubal epithelia were analyzed using microarray, and tubal fluid was analyzed using quantitative label-free LC-MS/MS. We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and determined common mRNAs/protein. We observed 35 commonly deregulated mRNAs/proteins, and IPA indicated that cellular movement, inflammatory response, and immune cell trafficking were significantly activated during the pathogenesis of tubal EM. We also identified acute phase response signaling pathway activation as a unique pathogenesis signature of tubal EM. Our results demonstrate that an integrated analysis of the transcriptome and proteome has the potential to reveal novel disease mechanisms at a molecular level.

Surgical Removal of Hydrosalpinx Improves Endometrium Receptivity by Decreasing Nuclear Factor-Kappa B Expression.

Although physiologic amount of inflammation is necessary for successful implantation, pathological inflammation inhibits the expression of receptivity molecules and genes. Because hydrosalpinges is an inflammatory disease, adverse effects of hydrosalpinges on implantation may be in part mediated by disturbed endometrial expression of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), a dimer implicated in inflammation. We examined the expression of NF-κB p65 (Rel A) during the window of implantation in the endometrium of infertile women (n = 14) with uni or bilateral hydrosalpinges prior to and following salpingectomy and of fertile controls (n = 14) by immunohistochemistry. We assessed the influence of salpingectomy on NF-κB p65 expression by comparing pre- and post-operative endometrial samples. To evaluate the intensity of endometrial NF-κB p65 (Rel A) immunoreactivity, H-score method was used. We showed a decrease in NF-κB p65 expression in 13 out of the 14 post-salpingectomy endometrial samples. The mean NF-κB p65 level was significantly higher in the endometrium of women with hydrosalpinges before salpingectomy compared with control cases without hydrosalpinges (3.94 ± 6.2 vs 2.18 ± 0.7, p < .02). Salpingectomy decreased the mean endometrial NF-κB p65 levels in both unilateral and bilateral hydrosalpinges (2.87 ± 1.1). When we compared the endometrial NF-κB p65 levels of the post-salpingectomy samples with their age-matched fertile controls, we did not observe any significant difference. After salpingectomy, the mean H-score of endometrial NF-κB p65 expression significantly decreased to a level similar to that of the fertile group (2.87 ± 1.1 vs 2.18 ± 0.7, p > .64). NF-κB p65 expression was detected in cytoplasmic and membranous parts of luminal and glandular epithelial cells of endometrium obtained before salpingectomy. Both epithelial and stromal components of the endometrium showed decreased staining for NF-κB p65 compared with the pre- and post-salpingectomy samples. The decreased NF-κB p65 (Rel A) immunoreactivity was predominantly localized to luminal and glandular epithelial cells. Uni or bilateral hydrosalpinges causes pathological endometrial inflammation. Improvement in pathological inflammation following salpingectomy in women with hydrosalpinges may be in part mediated by the downregulation of endometrial NF-κB p65 (Rel A) expression.

The human tubal lavage proteome reveals biological processes that may govern the pathology of hydrosalpinx.

Hydrosalpinx, the blockage of fallopian tubes, can result from pelvic inflammatory disease. Hydrosalpinx is a cause of infertility and negatively impacts in vitro fertilization. To better understand the pathobiology of hydrosalpinx, we compared the proteome of lavages from disease vs. healthy fallopian tubes. Results indicate a disruption of redox homeostasis and activation of the complement system, immune cell infiltration, and phagocytosis; pathways that may drive tubal injury. To our surprise among the most prominent proteins with hydrosalpinx was mesothelin (MSLN), which until now has only been associated with epithelial malignancies. Analogous to mesothelioma and ovarian carcinoma, a significant increase of MSLN was detected in plasma from patients with hydrosalpinx. This finding suggests MSLN may provide clinical diagnosis in lieu of the current approaches that require invasive imaging. Importantly, these findings implicate MSLN in a benign disease, indicating that the activation and role of MSLN is not restricted to cancer.

Morphological and immunohistochemical pattern of tubo-ovarian dysplasia and serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Histopathological examination of material from prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomies performed in patients at genetic risk of ovarian cancer can reveal abnormalities interpreted as possible pre-cancerous "ovarian dysplasia" and tubal precursors lesions. We sought to study the morphological features and immunohistochemical expression patterns of neoplasia-associated markers in prophylactically removed ovaries and fallopian tubes (pBSO) in comparison with a group of serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma (STIC) and non-cancerous controls. STUDY DESIGN: Morphological features and immunohistochemical expression patterns of Ki-67 (for proliferation biomarker), p53 (key pathway of mullerian serous tumorogenesis), Bcl2 (anti-apoptotic), γH2AX (a double-strand breaks marker) and ALDH1 (a stem cell marker significantly associated with early-stage ovarian cancer) were blindly evaluated by two pathologists in 111 pBSO, 12 STICs and 116 non-cancerous salpingo-oophorectomies (control group) (nBSO). RESULTS: Morphological ovarian and tubal dysplasia scores were significantly higher in the pBSO than in controls (respectively, 8.8 vs 3.12, p<0.0001, for ovaries and 6.54 vs 1.58, p<0.0001 for tubes). Increased γH2AX expression was observed in the pBSO and STICs compared with the controls whereas expression patterns of Ki67, p53 and bcl2 were low to moderate in the pBSO group. STICs overexpressed Ki67 and p53 while bcl2 expression was low; Interestingly, ALDH1 expression was low in non dysplastic epithelium, high in dysplasia and constantly low in STICs. CONCLUSION: The morphological and immunohistochemical profile of tubo-ovarian dysplasia and STICs might be consistent with progression toward neoplastic transformation in the Serous Carcinogenesis Sequence. These changes may be pre-malignant and could represent an important phase in early neoplasia. ALDH1 activation in pBSO samples and its extinction in STICs should be considered as a target for prevention.

MUC1 expression in fallopian tubes of women with hydrosalpinx.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the expression of MUC1 in Fallopian tubes with or without hydrosalpinx, using four different types of antibody. STUDY DESIGN: In a case-control study, immunohistochemical expression of MUC1 was examined in Fallopian tubes derived from women with hydrosalpinx (n=10) and normal controls (n=10). Four different antibodies were used for the detection of both extracellular (214D4, HMFG1, VPM654) and intracellular (EPR1023) MUC1 epitopes. Staining intensity was measured with ImageJ software. Expression of MUC1 mRNA was quantified by quantitative RT-PCR. Statistical analysis was performed with Student t-test (mean ± SD) and Mann-Whitney U-test (median [range]). RESULTS: The mean (±SD) and median [range] intensity of MUC1 in controls vs. hydrosalpinx were: 214D4-67.5 ± 11.3 vs. 74.8 ± 14.69 (P=0.22); HMFG1-95.3 [642-1079] vs. 97.0 [502-1550] (P=0.91); VPM654-41.1 [314-914] vs. 46.0 [390-1424] (P=0.1); EPR1023-24.7 ± 7.3 vs. 57.4 ± 31.3 (P=0.01). MUC1 mRNA was 0.16 [008-05] vs. 0.09 [005-019] (P=0.06). Ectodomains and mRNA of MUC1 are unchanged in tubes from hydrosalpinx patients. In contrast, immunodetection of the MUC1 cytoplasmic tail is enhanced in tubes from hydrosalpinx. CONCLUSION: Fallopian tubes with hydrosalpinx have a selective accumulation of MUC1 cytoplasmic tail, but not difference in the ectodomain.

The expression of Cox-2, NF-κB, and VEGF in ectopic endometrial tissues within fallopian tubes suggests different etiologies.

The ectopic endometrial tissues lining the lumen of the fallopian tubes are currently defined as either "endometrial colonization" or "endometriosis" on the basis of their location within or beyond the isthmic portion of the fallopian tubes. The underlying etiology is unclear. The goal of this study was to define the fallopian endometrial lesions pathogenetically rather than anatomically. We investigated 39 cases of the ectopic endometrial tissues within the fallopian tubes, most of which exceeded the isthmus. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to evaluate the expression of Cox-2, NF-κB, and VEGF, which are specifically expressed by classic endometriosis. Other clinicopathologic parameters were also recorded. The results indicated that the lesions that were confined to the mucosa might differ from those observed in the muscular or serosal layers, which showed significantly less surrounding inflammatory reaction and less concurrent salpingitis and other endometriotic lesions. The expression of Cox-2, NF-κB, and VEGF of the ectopic endometrial stromal cells tended to increase in the progression from the inner to the outer part of the tubes with significance. The expression of NF-κB and VEGF correlates with the microscopic findings of inflammation. Sterilization by tubal ligation exhibited a unique pattern of distribution. Except in those patients with tubal ligation, considering the different expression patterns observed in the tubal ectopic endometrial lesions, the mucosal type should be diagnosed as "endometrial colonization" wherever the lesion occurs. The others should be diagnosed as "endometriosis" to reveal the etiology identical to typical endometriotic lesions.

Antioxidant capacity of follicular fluid from patients undergoing in vitro fertilization.

This study measured the antioxidant activity of follicular fluid (FF) in infertile patients and assessed its possible correlation between ovarian stimulation and pregnancy outcomes. Samples from 191 infertile patients undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) were determined by α-diphenyl-ß-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, reducing power, superoxide radical scavenging, ß-Carotene bleaching assay, ferrothiocyanate and thiobarbituric acid assays. The comparison between a positive IVF outcome and FF's antioxidant activity was also studied. The results showed FF had strong antioxidant activity, which equated to common antioxidants Vc and BHT (100 µg/mL). Patients with endometriosis had less efficient antioxidant activity in FF than that of patients with tubal occlusion or polycystic ovary syndrome. In conclusion, this study detected, for the first time, the antioxidant activity of FF from patients undergoing an IVF and the FF exhibited strong antioxidant activity.

Signaling via tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 but not Toll-like receptor 2 contributes significantly to hydrosalpinx development following Chlamydia muridarum infection.

Chlamydial infection in the lower genital tract can lead to hydrosalpinx, which is accompanied by activation of both pattern recognition receptor TLR2- and inflammatory cytokine receptor TNFR1-mediated signaling pathways. In the current study, we compared the relative contributions of these two receptors to chlamydial induction of hydrosalpinx in mice. We found that mice with or without deficiencies in TLR2 or TNFR1 displayed similar time courses of live organism shedding from vaginal swabs, suggesting that these receptor-mediated signaling pathways are not required for controlling chlamydial lower genital infection. However, mice deficient in TNFR1 but not TLR2 developed significantly reduced hydrosalpinx. The decreased pathogenicity correlated with a significant reduction in interleukin-17 by in vitro-restimulated splenocytes of TNFR1-deficient mice. Although TLR2-deficient mice developed hydrosalpinx as severe as that of wild-type mice, peritoneal macrophages from mice deficient in TLR2 but not TNFR1 produced significantly reduced cytokines upon chlamydial stimulation, suggesting that reduced macrophage responses to chlamydial infection do not always lead to a reduction in hydrosalpinx. Thus, we have demonstrated that the signaling pathways triggered by the cytokine receptor TNFR1 play a more significant role in chlamydial induction of hydrosalpinx than those mediated by the pattern recognition receptor TLR2, which has laid a foundation for further revealing the chlamydial pathogenic mechanisms.

Endosalpingiosis as it relates to tubal, ovarian and serous neoplastic tissues: an immunohistochemical study of tubal and Müllerian antigens.

OBJECTIVE: The origins and clinical significance of endosalpingiosis (ES), ectopic tubal epithelium, are not well understood. These investigations aim to characterize ES as it relates to normal fallopian tube, ovarian surface and serous neoplasms. METHODS: A retrospective review of pathology reports from all prophylactic gynecologic surgeries from 2000 to 2010 was performed to assess the frequency of ES. Twenty-one archival specimens of ES, 6 normal fallopian tubes, 9 normal ovaries, 21 serous neoplasms and a commercially available ovarian tissue microarray were subjected to immunohistochemistry (IHC) with 11 tubal and Müllerian antigens. IHC staining was evaluated with a quantitative scoring system and scores were analyzed using MINITAB statistical software. RESULTS: ES was noted in 3.5% of pathologic specimens from 464 prophylactic surgeries. The majority of antigens showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) in median IHC scores between ES and normal fallopian tube epithelium (nFTE), while they were significantly different (p < 0.05) from the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE). Median IHC scores were unchanged in ES tissues regardless of the location of ES or the presence of a concurrent serous neoplasm. Three antigens emerged as contemporary tubal and ES biomarkers: phospho-Smad2, BCL2 and FOXJ1. All 3 biomarkers were expressed in ES, nFTE and serous neoplasms, but not in OSE or other tumor types. CONCLUSION: This study provides immunophenotypic evidence that ES is more similar to the nFTE than OSE. Further, ES biomarker expression closely resembles serous neoplasms strengthening the growing body of evidence that all Müllerian serous carcinomas arise from tubal-like epithelium.

Endosalpingiosis in peritoneal washings in women with benign gynecologic conditions: thirty-eight cases confirmed with paired box-8 immunohistochemical staining and correlation with surgical biopsy findings.

BACKGROUND: To better define the cytomorphologic spectrum of endosalpingiosis in peritoneal washings (PWs) and thereby facilitate their distinction from well differentiated serous carcinoma, the authors examined PWs from women who underwent surgery and pathologic staging of lesions other than Mullerian malignancies and correlated the findings with surgical specimens. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of medical records and PW specimens from 100 consecutive patients who had PWs coded as both "endosalpingiosis" and "negative for carcinoma" between 2002 and 2012. Thirty-eight of these patients had no gynecologic malignancies. Specimens had been prepared using cytocentrifugation and were stained using the Papanicolaou method. The cytologic findings evaluated were cell arrangement, number of cell groups per case, cellular atypia, and psammoma bodies. Smears also were assessed for paired box-8 (PAX8) immunostaining. The authors compared patients' staging biopsy findings with the findings from a review of the PWs. RESULTS: PW specimens from 35 of 38 patients (92%) exhibited classic endosalpingiosis features: tubular or small branching papillary structures, some with psammoma bodies. Specimens from the 3 remaining patients displayed nonclassic features consistent with dislodged fallopian tube epithelium or endometriosis. From 2 to 20 clusters per slide and from 4 to 50 groups per case were identified. In a few cases, some cell clusters exhibited up to moderate cytologic atypia. Surgical findings included endometriosis, endosalpingiosis, both endometriosis and endosalpingiosis (12 patients; 31.6%), and a variety of unrelated pelvic lesions. All cases were PAX8-positive, confirming their Mullerian origin. CONCLUSIONS: Endosalpingiosis in PWs can be diagnostically challenging. Awareness of intraoperative techniques and correlation with surgical biopsy findings are necessary to avoid a misdiagnosis of malignancy.

How to deal with fluid in the endometrial cavity during assisted reproductive techniques.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Patients with endometrial cavity fluid (ECF) in assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) are poor in prognosis. This review presents the research development of ECF during ARTs, particularly in treatment. RECENT FINDINGS: ECF patients with or without tubal infertility may represent a different clinical entity. ECF impairs the ART outcome in tubal factor, but not polycystic ovarian syndrome, patients. Actually, it was tubal infertility, not only hydrosalpinx, that was related to the development of ECF. Both appearance time and accumulation amount of ECF are critical in the impact of ECF on the ART outcome. Since excessive ECF (equal to or higher than 3.5 mm in the anterior-posterior diameter) usually had a negative impact on the ART outcome, postponing embryo transfer should be considered. A nonexcessive ECF usually disappeared by the time of embryo transfer. The routine embryo transfer in these ECF patients could yield the same ART outcome as in patients without ECF. If a nonexcessive ECF persisted until the day of embryo transfer, particularly in patients with nontube infertility, transvaginal sonographic aspiration could be an alternative of treatment. SUMMARY: The treatment of ECF during ARTs should be individual according to the causes, appearance time and accumulation amount of ECF.

The influence of hydrosalpinx on endometrial elafin expression.

The endometrium of women with hydrosalpinx has an increased number of neutrophils and lower expression of elafin, an elastase inhibitor and natural antimicrobial molecule. These findings suggest that women with hydrosalpinx have a reduced antimicrobial and antielastase activity.

Glycodelin in endometrial flushing fluid and endometrial biopsies from infertile and fertile women.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate in the natural cycle just before IVF, whether glycodelin levels in endometrial flushing fluid obtained days LH+1 and LH+7 can be used in predicting pregnancy in the following IVF cycle, and whether there are differences in women with tubal factor infertility compared to women with unexplained infertility and fertile controls. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective observational multicentre study of 21 fertile and 75 infertile women (25 showed abnormal tubes with no signs of hydrosalpinges, 18 had uni- or bi-lateral hydrosalpinges, 17 were salpingectomised because of hydrosalpinges, and 15 women had unexplained infertility). Endometrial flushing at days LH+1 and LH+7, endometrial biopsy, and blood sampling at day LH+7 were performed before down-regulation for IVF. Glycodelin levels in endometrial flushing fluids (EFF), biopsies, and plasma samples were related to tubal pathology, endometrial dating and IVF outcome. Furthermore, total protein concentration was measured in EFF to investigate the influence of normal endometrial maturation on protein concentrations from days LH+1 and LH+7. RESULTS: At day LH+1, EFF glycodelin levels were higher in infertile women with abnormal tubes compared to fertile women, particularly in women conceiving after the following IVF. For women with unexplained infertility, a higher level at day LH+1 was present only in women not conceiving after the following IVF. ROC curve analysis showed that at day LH+1 EFF glycodelin levels had no predictive value for IVF outcome. At day LH+7, glycodelin levels in endometrial flushing fluids and biopsies depended on endometrial dating. CONCLUSIONS: At day LH+1, glycodelin concentration is increased in endometrial flushing fluid from infertile women with abnormal tubes compared to fertile controls without being a valuable predictor of subsequent pregnancy. At day LH+7 the glycodelin level depends on endometrial dating.

Expression of E- and N-cadherin and CD44 in endometrium and hydrosalpinges from infertile women.

In this prospective comparative study, compared with fertile control subjects (n = 12), infertile patients with hydrosalpinx (n = 18) had lower E-cadherin and a trend toward decreased N-cadherin H-scores in the endometrium (3.6 ± 0.6 vs. 2.4 ± 0.8 and 0.57 ± 1.0 vs. 0.52 ± 0.5, respectively). In hydrosalpinx, epithelial N-cadherin expression was discontinuous and disappeared in atrophic patches.

Effects of hydrosalpinx on pinopodes, leukaemia inhibitory factor, integrin beta3 and MUC1 expression in the peri-implantation endometrium.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the expression of pinopodes, LIF, integrin beta(3) and MUC1 in the peri-implantation endometrium of women with and without hydrosalpinx. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective observational study in an assisted reproductive unit in a university teaching hospital, including 20 women with hydrosalpinx and 21 women without hydrosalpinx. Endometrial biopsies were performed on day LH+7 or +8. The proportion and density of pinopodes were assessed by scanning electron microscopy. LIF, integrin beta3 and MUC1 were evaluated with immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: The proportion and the density of pinopodes were not significantly different between the hydrosalpinx and control groups. The LIF, integrin beta(3), and MUC1 expression were significantly reduced in both glandular epithelial cells and endometrial lumen of the hydrosalpinx group when compared with those of the control group. The expression of integrin beta(3) in stromal cells was also significantly lower in the hydrosalpinx group. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion and the density of pinopodes in the peri-implantation endometrium were not affected by the presence of hydrosalpinx while LIF, integrin beta(3) and MUC1 were significantly reduced in patients with hydrosalpinx.

Endosalpingiosis of the urinary bladder: a case of probable implantative origin with characterization of benign Fallopian tube immunohistochemistry.

Müllerianosis of the bladder is an infrequently described lesion consisting of multiple Müllerian-type tissues within the urinary bladder. Few previous cases of pure endosalpingiosis have been described. Here we present a 54-year-old post-menopausal female with a history of prior pelvic surgery with traumatic bladder injury, who was found to have a cystic lesion in the posterior wall of the bladder. Routine histology demonstrated cyst epithelium characteristic of endosalpingiosis. Three benign Fallopian tube specimens were obtained and stained with the relevant immunohistochemical markers for comparison. Results showed an identical immunohistochemical profile between the bladder cyst lining and the normal Fallopian tube controls. This case represents a rare instance of pure endosalpingiosis of the urinary bladder, with a likely implantative origin. This form of bladder Müllerianosis should therefore be considered within the differential diagnosis of cystic lesions of the bladder.

[The expression and significance of TGF-beta 1 and its receptors in infertile women's fimbriae tubes with adhesions and atresias].

OBJECTIVE: To profile the expression of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and its receptors (TGF-beta R1 and TGF-beta R2) in human fimbriae tubes to valuate the role of TGF-beta 1 signal system in adhesions and atresias formation of infertile women's fimbriae tubes. METHODS: The expressions of TGF-beta 1 and its receptors (TGF-beta R1 and TGF-beta R2) in fimbriae tubes were measured by immunohistochemical SP methods in 30 human fimbriae tube with adhesions and 15 cases without adhesions. The average integrated optical density (IOD) value of positive staining was tested by Image pro-plus 6.0 software. The results were analyzed with independ-samples T test and Pearson correlation. RESULTS: TGF-beta 1, TGF-beta R1 and TGF-beta R2 chiefly expressed in the epithelial cells, also expressed in the vascular endothelial cells and fibroblasts. Compared with human fimbriae tubes without adhesions or atresias, the expression of these three molecules all increased significantly in adhesion cases (P<0.05). In adhesion group, there was a positive correlation between TGF-beta 1 and TGF-beta R1, TGF-beta 1 and TGF-beta R2 (P<0.05), but no correlation between TGF-beta R1 and TGF-beta R2 (P<0.05), while there was no correlation among these three factors in control group. CONCLUSION: TGF-beta 1 signal system may be an important ring-joint in adhesions formation of human fimbriae tube.