CONCENTRATION OF ENDOMETRIAL PROTEIN-PP14 IN UTERINE FLUSHINGS THROUGHOUT THE MENSTRUAL-CYCLE IN NORMAL, FERTILE WOMEN

Objective To determine the variation in concentration of endometrial p rotein PP14 in uterine flushings throughout the menstrual cycle compar ing this to concentrations in plasma samples. Design Precise timing of all samples by the luteinising hormone surge. Setting Jessop Hospital for Women, Sheffield. Subjects Twenty-three regularly cycling, previo usly fertile volunteer women. Interventions Observational study; 10 ml of physiological saline was used to flush the uterine cavity once or serially in the cycle of the study. Main outcome measures The measurem ent of PP14 levels by radioimmunoassay in uterine flushings and plasma samples. Results In uterine flushing, PP14 levels were not detectable in significant amounts in the proliferative phase and the early lutea l phase; after day LH+6, the concentration rises rapidly with a doubli ng time of only 6.6 to 14.6 h in the midluteal phase. In the late lute al phase, the concentrations in uterine flushing were over a hundred t imes higher than the corresponding plasma samples.Conclusions The meas urement of PP14 in uterine flushings is likely to be of greater value than the measurement in plasma samples; it may provide a valuable alte rnative to the evaluation of endometrial function.