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Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Application of Genetically Encoded Fluorescent Nitric Oxide (NO•) Probes, the geNOps, for Real-time Imaging of NO• Signals in Single Cells
Published on: March 16, 2017
Differential in vitro actions of nitric oxide on human endometrial cell survival
M Cecilia Johnson1, Manuel Maliqueo, M Angélica Boric
1Institute of Maternal and Child Research, School of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile. cjohnson@machi.med.uchile.cl
Objective:
To investigate the presence of caspase-3 and Bcl-2 concentration in human endometrial tissue throughout the menstrual cycle, and study the effect of nitric oxide (NO) on cell proliferation and apoptosis during culture.
Design:
Expression of caspase-3 and Bcl-2 concentration in endometrial explants, and examination of L-arginine (L-Arg) effect on epithelial and stromal cell proliferation and apoptosis in vitro.
Setting:
Prospective study.Twenty-seven eumenorrheic women (37 +/- 1.2 years).
Intervention(S):
Endometrial samples were obtained with Pipelle suction curette from the corpus of the uterus.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Apoptosis (annexin V-FITC binding), Bcl-2 concentration (ELISA), caspase-3 (immunohistochemistry), cell proliferation (spectrophotometric assay), and gene expression (RT-PCR).
Result(S):
Caspase-3 was detected by immunoassay in epithelial tissue throughout the menstrual cycle and in stroma during secretory phase. The Bcl-2 concentration was similar in endometrial homogenates obtained throughout the menstrual cycle, but L-Arg decreased Bcl-2 only in endometrium from the proliferative phase. In epithelial cells, NO increased apoptosis by 2.1 +/- 0.2-fold, augmented mRNA expression of Bax, and reduced expression of Bcl-2 compared with basal cultures. In stromal cells, NO increased cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner, an effect that was blocked by a NO synthase inhibitor.
Conclusion(S):
These data indicate that NO has a differential regulatory function on endometrial cell survival, as indicated by the results on stromal cell proliferation and epithelial cell apoptosis during culture, which suggests paracrine interactions between both cell types.
