Gene expression profiling of mid to late secretory phase endometrial biopsies from women with menstrual complaint

Objective The purpose of this study was to test whether a quantitative high-throughput molecular screen can be used to probe human endometrium and initiate the development of molecular diagnostic tools with potential for identification of therapeutic targets in women with menstrual complaints. Study design Endometrium was collected from 10 patients with complaint of heavy bleeding, classified into mid or late secretory phase of the menstrual cycle by histologic dating and serum progesterone concentration. Total RNA was extracted and gene activity assessed using high-density oligonucleotide arrays. Results Statistical testing identified 83 ‘signature’ genes whose expression levels differentiated the mid and late secretory phases of the menstrual cycle. Conclusion The results show that the endometrium, a complex heterogeneous tissue, is amenable to high-throughput molecular analyses and this work provides further support for the future application of molecular profiling to clinical diagnosis.