Mol. Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on January 28, 2005
Molecular Human Reproduction 2005 11(3):189-194; doi:10.1093/molehr/gah144
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Galectin fingerprinting in human endometrium and decidua during the menstrual cycle and in early gestation
1Department of Gynecological Endocrinology and Reproductive Medicine, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Voßstrasse 9, 69115 Heidelberg and 2Institute of Physiological Chemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Veterinärstr. 13, München, Germany
3 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Voßstrasse 9, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany. Email: michael.von.wolff{at}med.uni-heidelberg.de
The emerging functionality of the sugar code via cell surface glycans and endogenous lectins ascribes pertinent roles in cell physiology to the carbohydrate signals of cellular glycoconjugates. To initiate monitoring of endogenous lectins in human endometrium, we focused on a family of growth/adhesion-regulatory lectins, i.e. galectins. Comprehensive fingerprinting was performed on samples throughout the menstrual cycle and in decidua. The endometrium (n=30) and decidua (n=7) were collected from patients undergoing hysterectomy for benign reasons and from induced abortions. Measurements by RT–PCR and then by multiprobe RNase protection assay with total endometrial and decidual tissue and with epithelial cells, stromal cells and CD45-positive cell fractions (n=16), isolated by the use of antibody-coated magnetic beads, revealed a predominant expression of galectins-1 and -3. Protein analysis was performed by immunocytochemistry with monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies (n=40). Galectin-1 was localized mainly in stromal cells, whereas galectin-3 was predominantly found in epithelial cells. Expression of galectin-1 increased significantly in the late secretory phase endometrium and in the decidual tissue. Expression of galectin-3 increased significantly during the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle. Cycle-dependent expression of galectin-1 in stromal cells and galectin-3 in epithelial cells suggest these lectins to be involved in the regulation of different endometrial cellular functions.
Key words: adhesion/decidua/endometrium/galectins/implantation
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  N. G. Than, R. Romero, M. Goodman, A. Weckle, J. Xing, Z. Dong, Y. Xu, F. Tarquini, A. Szilagyi, P. Gal, et al. A primate subfamily of galectins expressed at the maternal-fetal interface that promote immune cell death PNAS, June 16, 2009; 106(24): 9731 - 9736. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. D. Kopcow, F. Rosetti, Y. Leung, D. S. J. Allan, J. L. Kutok, and J. L. Strominger T cell apoptosis at the maternal-fetal interface in early human pregnancy, involvement of galectin-1 PNAS, November 25, 2008; 105(47): 18472 - 18477. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. G. Than, R. Romero, O. Erez, A. Weckle, A. L. Tarca, J. Hotra, A. Abbas, Y. M. Han, S.-S. Kim, J. P. Kusanovic, et al. Emergence of hormonal and redox regulation of galectin-1 in placental mammals: Implication in maternal-fetal immune tolerance PNAS, October 14, 2008; 105(41): 15819 - 15824. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. Mitko, S. E Ulbrich, H. Wenigerkind, F. Sinowatz, H. Blum, E. Wolf, and S. Bauersachs Dynamic changes in messenger RNA profiles of bovine endometrium during the oestrous cycle Reproduction, February 1, 2008; 135(2): 225 - 240. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Nio and T. Iwanaga Galectins in the Mouse Ovary: Concomitant Expression of Galectin-3 and Progesterone Degradation Enzyme (20{alpha}-HSD) in the Corpus Luteum J. Histochem. Cytochem., May 1, 2007; 55(5): 423 - 432. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I. Camby, M. Le Mercier, F. Lefranc, and R. Kiss Galectin-1: a small protein with major functions Glycobiology, November 1, 2006; 16(11): 137R - 157R. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. Strowitzki, A. Germeyer, R. Popovici, and M. von Wolff The human endometrium as a fertility-determining factor Hum. Reprod. Update, September 1, 2006; 12(5): 617 - 630. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. M. Popovici, M. S. Krause, A. Germeyer, T. Strowitzki, and M. von Wolff Galectin-9: A New Endometrial Epithelial Marker for the Mid- and Late-Secretory and Decidual Phases in Humans J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., November 1, 2005; 90(11): 6170 - 6176. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|