Immunohistochemical assessment of superoxide dismutase expression in the human endometrium throughout the menstrual cycle.

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Abstract
The immunohistochemical distribution of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was examined in the human endometrium throughout the menstrual cycle. Surface and glandular epithelia showed positive staining throughout the menstrual cycle except just prior to the menstruation. Staining activity was more intense in the cytoplasm than that in the nucleus. Specific immunostaining of SOD was demonstrated in sub- and supranuclear vacuoles of glandular epithelia, and intraglandular substances during the early and mid secretory phases; i.e., the pre- and peri-implantation periods. Meanwhile, stromal cells showed weaker staining activity than surface and glandular epithelia throughout the menstrual cycle until the 22th day. Once the predecidual change occurred in stromal cells on the 23th day, predecidual cells came to show intensive staining. However, specific staining was shown neither in predecidual cells nor in surface or glandular epithelia just prior to the menstruation. In addition, SOD activity was also shown in the decidual cells of 8 weeks gestation and in the reserve cells of the endocervix. Collectively, the present immunohistochemical results suggest that SOD may play an important role not only in the protection of developing embryos from superoxide anion radicals but also in the local defense mechanism against tissue damages resulting from inflammation in the uterine cavity, and that the expression of SOD may be regulated by sex steroids, especially progesterone. Furthermore, SOD could be a useful indicator to clinically diagnose the degree of predecidualization and the luteal phase defect.