Expression of the chemokine eotaxin and its receptor, CCR3, in human endometrium

Eosinophils are present in human endometrium only immediately before and during menstruation, suggesting a role in that process. The expression of the eosinophil chemoattractant, eotaxin, and its receptor, CCR3, within the human endometrium were investigated by immunohistochemical analysis of tissue sections spanning the entire menstrual cycle. Eotaxin was localized to perivascular cells in the late secretory phase, and it was also identified in eosinophils. However, the highest levels of this chemokine were present in both luminal and glandular epithelial cells during the proliferative and secretory phases of the cycle. Treatment of endometrial tissue with monensin, which blocks protein secretion, increased epithelial immunoreactive eotaxin, substantiating synthesis in these cells. Although the CCR3 receptor was expressed by eosinophils, it was also strongly expressed by endometrial epithelial cells. The CCR3 receptor on purified, cultured endometrial epithelial cells was functional, as assessed by a transient Ca(2+) flux in response to eotaxin. These analyses demonstrate that eotaxin is expressed by endometrial cells and may therefore be involved in the recruitment of eosinophils into this tissue premenstrually. However, the observation that this chemokine and the CCR3 molecule are strongly expressed by epithelial cells throughout the cycle suggests that these proteins may have additional important functions within the endometrium.