Von Hippel-Lindau gene expression in human endometrium during menstrual cycle

The von Hippel‑Lindau (VHL) gene is a tumor suppressor gene, which is widely expressed in the kidney, lung, breast, eye, ovary and cervix. Mutations of the VHL gene are able to induce VHL disease and tumorigenesis. However, it has yet to be evaluated whether the VHL gene is expressed in the human endometrium. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether the VHL gene is expressed in the human endometrium and to identify changes in expression levels during the menstrual cycle. A total of 35 human endometrial tissue samples in the proliferative (n=17) and secretory phase (n=18) were subjected to the present study. VHL gene expression levels were assessed using Western blot analysis and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). It was observed that the expression of VHL mRNA in the human endometrium decreased from the proliferative to secretory phase (P<0.05). Levels of VHL protein in the proliferative phase were higher than those in the secretory phase (P<0.05). In conclusion, the present study revealed that the VHL gene is expressed in the normal human endometrium, and its expression levels change during the different periods of the menstrual cycle.