Figure 1

HOXA11 transcript (A) and protein (B) levels and representative picture of western blot analysis of HOXA11 protein contents (C) in eutopic mid-luteal endometrium from infertile women with endometriosis, fertile women and infertile women with tubal occlusion. The eutopic endometrium tissue from women with endometriosis, fertile women and infertile women with tubal occlusion was respectively obtained by pipelle or hysteroscopic biopsy during the implantation window, followed by total RNA and protein isolation. RNA was reverse-transcribed and HOXA11 cDNAs were investigated by RQ-PCR relative quantification analysis. To normalize the quantity of transcripts in each sample, HOXA11 mRNA levels were normalised to the amount of GAPDH and ACTB cDNA. The amounts of HOXA11 mRNA were expressed as the multiplicity of these cDNA copies in the calibrator. For western blot analysis, proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE and transferred to a PVDF membrane. This membrane was then incubated with Gp anti-HOXA11 Ab, followed by incubation with anti-goat HRP-conjugated Ab. To ensure equal protein loading of the lanes, the membranes were also incubated with anti-actin HRP-conjugated Ab. The amount of western blot-detected HOXA11 proteins was presented as the HOXA11-to-β-actin band optical density ratio. The boxes and the middle lines correspond to the values from the lower to upper quartiles and medians, respectively.