ABSTRACT

Purpose:

To analyze the distribution of EGF receptors (EGF-R) in the uterine tubes of rats at various phases of the estrous cycle immunohistochemically.

Methods:

Rat uterine tube tissue samples from certain phases of the menstrual cycle were processed for paraffin embedding. Indirect immunohistochemical and EGF-R primary antibody analyses were performed on the slides. After-wards, they were examined by Olympus BH2 photo-light microscope

Results:

In uterine tubes, EGF-R expression was not detected in the tuba ute-rine muscle layer or vessel wall in any estrous phase, but in the other parts its level varied in these phases. At proestrous, EGF-R was homogeneous in the epithelial cell cytoplasm, denser in the apical cell membrane, low in serosa layer mesothelial cells’ external cell surface and ranged from low to denser in connective tissues. At estrous, however, EGF-R expression was higher in the apical cytoplasm of cilial cells on the upper surface of mucous folding, but low in the lamina propria. Expression was detectable in some cells near the vessel wall within connective tissue of serosa, but was denser in the mesothelia. At metaestrous, beside higher expression in both the apical cytoplasm and cell membrane of epithelia and some cells in lamina propria, no immunohistoche-mical staining was observed in serosa. At diestrous, expression in the epithelia layer and in the cell membrane was denser and low in serosa.

Conclusion:

Blood estrogen level dependent EGF-R expression was determi-ned in the tuba uterine, and, in accordance with increased blood estrogen levels, EGF-R expression was stimulated.