SERUM HUMAN HEPATOCYTE GROWTH-FACTOR IN HUMAN MENSTRUAL-CYCLE AND PREGNANCY - A NOVEL SERUM MARKER OF REGENERATION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF HUMAN ENDOMETRIUM

Serum concentrations of human hepatocyte growth factor (hHGF) were mea sured in normal menstrual cycles and during uncomplicated pregnancies. In the normal menstrual cycle, the concentrations of hHGF increased t hrough the mid and the late luteal phases to reach the highest peak du ring the menstrual phases, followed by a gradual decline during the fo llicular phase toward the trough levels seen in the ovulatory and the very early luteal phases. During pregnancy, serum hHGF concentrations increased continuously from the late luteal levels and constituted 4 d istinct peaks. By immunostaining, c-Met protein, a receptor for hHGF, was localized not in the stromal but in the epithelial layer of the en dometrium. In cultured isolated endometrial cells, hHGF stimulated the proliferation of both the epithelial and the stromal cells. It is lik ely that hHGF is involved in the repair or reconstruction process of t he endometrium after menstrual shedding and implantation.