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Human is one of the rarest mammals that have menstruation. Therefore, human uterine endometrium is a unique and dynamic tissue that undergoes well-defined cycles of proliferative phase, secretory phase and menstrual phase (shedding) on a monthly basis in response to the prevailing steroid environment of sequential ovarian estrogen and progesterone exposure.

Histological basis of human uterine endometrium is established by microscopic observation. However, three-dimensional (3D) morphology of endometrial glands has not been sufficiently understood because they have complicatedly winding and branching morphologies. To visualize whole picture of endometrial glands, we performed tissue clearing-based 3D imaging of human uterine endometrium tissue. We succeeded to render the full-thickness 3D image of human uterine endometrium by using the updated Clear, Unobstructed Brain/Body Imaging Cocktails and Computational analysis (CUBIC) protocol¹ and a light-sheet fluorescence microscopy. Furthermore, we extended our method to assess 3D morphology of endometrium-related diseases. Evaluation of 3D structure will lead to novel understanding of human uterine endometrium and endometrium-related diseases.

Here, we create a database on 3D histology of human uterine endometrium and endometrium-related diseases.