The proliferation process and proliferation dynamics of ectopic endometrial cells

Objective: To investigate the cell proliferative characteristics and proliferation dynamics of ectopic endometrium. Methods: The ki 67 expression and the phases of cell cycle were studied in primary cultures of ectopic endometrial cells (from the 10 women with endometrilosis) and eutopic endometrial cells (from 10 normal women without endometriosis). The phases of cell cycle were detected by flowcytometry, while the ki 67 expression was examined by immunocytochemistry. Results: (1) The ki 67 expression in both ectopic glandular and ectopic stromal cells (4.20±0.55 and 2.92±0.58, respectively) did not show significant difference from their eutopic counterparts (3.90±0.70 and 2.60±0.37, respectively)( P 0.05 ). (2) The distributions of G 0/G 1, G 2/M,S phases in ectopic endometrial cells (78.14% ±3.51%,11.53%±2.18%,10.32%±1.72%) were roughly similar to those in eutopic endometrial cells (79.27%±2.49%, 11.53%±1.43%, 9.20%±1.66%) ( P 0.05 ). Conclusion: (1) The ectopic endometrial cells are not hyperproliferative. (2) The cell cycle of ectopic endometrial cells is probably under the normal control.