Expression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone and its receptor in human endometrial cells cultured in vitro

Objective To investigate the expression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and its receptor (GnRH-R) in human endometriosis (EMS) and normal endometrial cells cultured in vitro. Methods Fresh eutopic endometrial specimens were collected during laparatoscopic operation from 10 EMS patients and 7 patients with other gynecological benign diseases aged 23～45,and digested by trypsin. The primary endometrial cells were cultured and passaged. Immunocytochemistry was used to detect the expression and localization of GnRH and GnRH-R. Results 15 of the 17 specimens (88.2%) were cultured successfully. Both GnRH and GnRH-R were expressed in all the endometrial cells,but the GnRH expression disappeared after passage of 2～3 generations. Conclusion The continuous expression of GnRH-R proteins in endometrial cells cultured in vitro indicates that the endometrial cells expressing GnRH can be used as a cell model to investigate the direct effect of GnRH-A on endometrium.