Chronic endometritis (CE), an inflammatory condition characterized by plasma cell infiltration within the endometrial stroma, is prevalent among women experiencing unexplained infertility or recurrent miscarriages. CE is traditionally diagnosed by endometrial biopsy using CD138 immunohistochemistry staining. Despite some studies suggesting hysteroscopy as an alternative diagnostic tool, its reliability compared with biopsy remains controversial. This study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of hysteroscopy for CE by examining endometrial features, such as congestion, micropolyps, edema, and polyps, and comparing these with biopsy-confirmed cases of CE. This retrospective observational study was conducted at Toho University Omori Medical Center between June 2017 and November 2019 and included patients undergoing both hysteroscopy and histopathological examination. Endometrial congestion was identified as the only hysteroscopic finding significantly associated with CE, showing a moderate diagnostic agreement with biopsy results. These findings highlight the importance of further investigating hysteroscopic features of CE and their diagnostic implications and identify endometrial congestion as a potential predictive marker for CE.
To function in diverse cellular processes, the dynamic properties of microtubules must be tightly regulated. Cellular microtubules are influenced by a multitude of regulatory proteins, but how their activities are spatiotemporally coordinated within the cell, or on specific microtubules, remains mostly obscure. The conserved kinesin-8 motor proteins are important microtubule regulators, and family members from diverse species combine directed motility with the ability to modify microtubule dynamics. Yet how kinesin-8 activities are appropriately deployed in the cellular context is largely unknown. Here we reveal the importance of the nonmotor tail in differentially controlling the physiological functions of the budding yeast kinesin-8, Kip3. We demonstrate that the tailless Kip3 motor domain adequately governs microtubule dynamics at the bud tip to allow spindle positioning in early mitosis. Notably, discrete regions of the tail mediate specific functions of Kip3 on astral and spindle microtubules. The region proximal to the motor domain operates to spatially regulate astral microtubule stability, while the distal tail serves a previously unrecognized role to control the timing of mitotic spindle disassembly. These findings provide insights into how nonmotor tail domains differentially control kinesin functions in cells and the mechanisms that spatiotemporally control the stability of cellular microtubules.
