R. Kothapalli et al., DETECTION OF EBAF, A NOVEL HUMAN GENE OF THE TRANSFORMING-GROWTH-FACTOR-BETA SUPERFAMILY - ASSOCIATION OF GENE-EXPRESSION WITH ENDOMETRIAL BLEEDING, The Journal of clinical investigation, 99(10), 1997, pp. 2342-2350
Human endometrium is unique since it is the only tissue in the body th
at bleeds at regular intervals. In addition, abnormal endometrial blee
ding is one of the most common manifestations of gynecological disease
s, and is a prime indication for hysterectomy, Here, we report on a no
vel human gene, endometrial bleeding associated factor (ebaf), whose s
trong expression in endometrium was associated with abnormal endometri
al bleeding, In normal human endometrium, this gene was transiently ex
pressed before and during menstrual bleeding, In situ hybridization sh
owed that the mRNA of ebaf was expressed in the stroma without any sig
nificant mRNA expression in the endometrial glands or endothelial cell
s, The predicted protein sequence of ebaf showed homology with and str
uctural features of the members of TGF-beta superfamily, Fluorescence
in situ hybridization showed that the ebaf gene is located on human ch
romosome 1 at band q42.1. Thus, ebaf is a novel member of the TGF-beta
superfamily and an endometrial tissue factor whose expression is asso
ciated with normal menstrual and abnormal endometrial bleeding.