Disturbed Cell Arrangement, Increased Cell Membrane Permeability and Apoptotic Cell Death Occur in Adenomyotic Uterine Tissues in Mice

Abstract

Abstract The relationship of the development of uterine adenomyosis with the changes in the cell arrangement and cell membrane permeability, and incidence of DNA fragmentation was examined in mice. In uterine areas showing the invasion of endometrial tissues into musculature, rhodamine-phalloidin staining for actin fibers revealed that the stromal cells ran parallel to the direction of the infiltration, and the muscle cells lost their regular arrangement, unlike those in the normal uteri of control mice. Inner myometrium showed positive fluorescence with Evans blue, which is known to stain only cells with increased membrane permeability. Outer myometrium also became fluorescence-positive, when the disease was advanced to severe state bearing invasion of endometrial tissues into the outer myometrium. No fluorescence with Evans blue was observed in the normal uterine tissues. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL method)-positive nuclei were exclusively found in ...