Immunohistochemical expression of MMP-14 and MMP-2, and MMP-2 activity during human ovarian follicular development.

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of MMP-14 and MMP-2 during human ovarian follicular development using immunohistochemistry, and the activity of MMP-2 in follicular fluid using zymography. Ovarian tissue collected from the archives of the Department of Pathology was examined and medical records and histopathology were reviewed. Follicular fluids were collected at the IVF-department and analyzed using zymography. MMP-14 and MMP-2 were increasingly found in the growing follicles and MMP-2 was highly expressed in the corpus luteum. Pro-MMP-2 was present in follicular fluid of IVF-patients. The presence of MMP-14 and MMP-2 during human ovarian follicular development from the primordial follicle to the tertiary follicle and corpus luteum is confirmed, as was indicated by earlier animal studies following stimulation with gonadotrophins.