Abstract:

Objective To evaluate the expressions and their significance of mast cell tryptase (MCT) and mast cell chymase (MCC) in endometrial polyps(EPs) of premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Methods The tissue specimens collected from 120 patients were divided into 4 groups: premenopausal EP group(n=35), postmenopausal EP group(n=35), normal proliferative endometrium group(n=25) and normal atrophic endometrium group(n=25). The number of MCT and MCC positive mast cells (MCs) were detected by MaxVision^TM/HRP immunohistochemistrymethod . Results The number of MCT and MCC positive MCs in EP group and normal endometrium group of premenopausal and postmenopausal phase were （11.82 ± 5.24）/high power(HP) and （2.94±2.20）/HP, （4.18 ± 2.32）/HP and （2.18±1.52）/HP, （2.19 ± 1.80）/HP and（0.49±0.60）/HP,（0.35 ± 0.32）/HP and（0.19±0.26）/HP, respectively. Compared with normal endometrium group in the same period, the number of MCT and MCC positive MCs in either premenopausal EP group or postmenopausal EP group were significantly higher (P＜0.05). In EP group, the number of MCT positive MCs in premenopausal women were higher than that in postmenopausal women(P＜0.05). There was no significant difference on the number of MCC positive MCs between preand postmenopausal women(P＞0.05). In endometrial group, the number of MCT and MCC positive MCs in premenopausal women were higher than that in postmenopausal women(P＜0.05). Conclusion Overactivity of MCs in endometrum, resulting in endometrial inflammatory lesions, may be an inducement of EPs formation and development in endometrium.

Key words: Mast cell tryptase, Mast cell chymase, Endometrial polyp, Immunohistochemistry, Human