Ultrastructural features of endometrial-myometrial interface and its alteration in adenomyosis.

Ying Zhang, Li Zhou, Tin C Li, Tin Chiu Li, Hua Duan, Pei Yu, Hong Y Wang
International journal of clinical and experimental pathology · 2014 · vol. 7(4) , pp. 1469–77 · PMID:24817942 · W2303708181
article OA: green CC0 ⤵ 19 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This study found that myocytes in the endometrial-myometrial interface have distinct ultrastructural features compared to outer myometrium, and these features are altered in adenomyosis due to absent normal cyclical changes.

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Abstract

The endometrial-myometrial interface (EMI) is a specific functional region of uterus. However, our knowledge on EMI ultrastructure both in normal uterus and adenomyosis is far from enough to understand its pathology. In this study, used the samples of EMI and outer myometrium (OM) from the adenomyosis hysterectomy specimens and the subjects from the control uteri, we prospectively compared the ultrastructure of myocytes from EMI and OM, the ultrastructural changes of EMI between the proliferative and secretory phases, and the ultrastructural difference of EMI between adenomyosis and the control group. In both adenomyosis and control group, there were differences in ultrastructure between myocytes from EMI and OM. Specifically, the myocytes from EMI were rich in organelles. In contrast, the myocytes from OM had abundant contractile structural components. In the proliferative phase, the myocytes from EMI in adenomyosis had significantly smaller cell and nucleus diameter than those from the control group, but in the secretory phase, the difference was not significant. In the control group, the various ultrastructural features of myocytes from EMI including the mean diameter of cell and nuclei and the myofilaments/cytoplasm ratio exhibited cyclical changes, but in adenomyosis, the normal cyclical changes were absent. In conclusions, there are significant ultrastructural differences between the myocytes from EMI and OM. The myocytes in women with adenomyosis were significantly different to the control subjects, primarily because the normal cyclical changes were absent.

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Condition tags

adenomyosis

MeSH descriptors

Adenomyosis Endometrium Myometrium Adenomyosis Adenomyosis Adult Cell Communication Cell Communication Endometrium Endometrium Endometrium Female Humans Menstrual Cycle Menstrual Cycle Middle Aged Muscle Cells Muscle Cells Muscle Cells Muscle Cells

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