title: SERPINE2, an inhibitor of plasminogen activators, is highly expressed in the human endometrium during the secretory phase.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  SERPINE2, also known as protease nexin-1, belongs to the serine protease inhibitor (SERPIN) superfamily. It is one of the potent SERPINs that modulates the activity of plasminogen activators (PAs). PAs and their SERPIN inhibitors, such as SERPINB2 and SERPINE1, were expressed in the human endometrium and were implicated in implantation. However, expression data about SERPINE2 in the human endometrium is still unknown. Thus, we conducted an investigation to reveal the spatiotemporal and cellular expression of SERPINE2 in the human uterus during the menstrual cycle.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seven patients who underwent a hysterectomy and samples of 120 archived patients' endometrial curettage or parts of the uterus that were formalin-fixed and embedded in paraffin. Western blotting was performed to evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of the antibody. Immunohistochemistry was conducted to localize the SERPINE2 expression site. Quantitative analysis was conducted to evaluate expression levels of SERPINE2 in various sub-phases of the menstrual cycle.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SERPINE2 protein was primarily detected in the uterine fluid during the mid- and late-secretory phases of the menstrual cycle. It was predominantly expressed in the luminal and glandular epithelium, less in the myometrium, and only dispersedly in certain stromal cells throughout the menstrual cycle. A quantitative analysis of expression levels of SERPINE2 in the glandular epithelium revealed that it was highly expressed in the endometrium during the secretory phase compared to the proliferative phase.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The SERPINE2 protein is highly expressed in the endometrium during the secretory phase, indicating that it may participate in tissue remodeling involved in implantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Research, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Robert Kuo-Kuang
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chi-Chen
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Yuh-Ming
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Hwu
authors.forename: Chung-Hao
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Ming-Huei
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Ying-Jie
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Sheng-Hsiang
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D001826:Body Fluids / Q000737:chemistry; D004717:Endometrium / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008183:Luteal Phase / Q000378:metabolism*; D058258:Serpin E2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D014599:Uterus / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: C545486:SERPINE2 protein, human; D058258:Serpin E2