Fig. 4

IL1B triggers the apoptosis of epithelial cells during decidualization. A UMAP map of four sub-clusters (PreSec_Epi, Sec_Epi, Cil_Epi, and EVT) of epithelial cells. B Violin plots of representative markers four sub-clusters of epithelial cells. C The proportion of four sub-clusters of epithelial cells from different samples. D Immunofluorescence staining of RPS2, DPP4, and FOXJ1 in the endometrium of Endometrium and Decidua group (n = 3 for each group). Scale bar, 20 μm. E Significant gene markers for each cluster were selected to perform GO analysis. GO terms with P < 0.05 are shown. Gene number of each GO term is listed on the left. P value is shown as − log 10 (P value). Violin plots of relative genes are shown on the right. F TUNEL assays images from representative experiments in the endometrium of Endometrium and Decidua (n = 3). The red fluorescence indicates apoptosis (arrows). Scale bar, 20 μm. G Immunofluorescence staining of IL1B and DPP4 in the endometrium of Endometrium and Decidua (n = 3). The red fluorescence indicates IL1B⁺DPP4.⁻ cells (arrows). Scale bar, 20 μm. H The apoptosis of human endometrial epithelial cells (hEECs) in THE control group and rh-IL1B protein group (50 ng/mL) was detected by the flow cytometry assay (n = 6).( **, p < 0.01)