FOXO1 and c-jun transcription factors mRNA are modulated in endometriosis

Endometriosis is a polygenic gynaecological condition affecting 5-15% of women of childbearing age. Major symptoms of the disease are pelvic pain and infertility. No clear link has been established between symptoms and the stage of the disease. Although some aspects have begun to be clarified, clinical understanding of endometriosis remains partial at the molecular level. In this perspective, we targeted isolation of differentially expressed genes in the eutopic endometrial tissue. Our assumption was that the endometrial cells of patients presented an unusual gene expression profile, allowing their implantation and survival in an ectopic site, leading to endometriotic lesions. Here, we report that mRNA steady-state levels of two key transcription factors are modulated in endometriosis. FOXO1 (also known as FKHR) levels were 1.6-fold lower in endometriosis compared to the control group at the onset of the secretory phase (day 15-21), while c-jun mRNA was present at higher amounts in endometriosis (1.5-fold) at the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle. These results were derived from a large sample composed of 157 control subjects and 209 patients with endometriosis. Gene profiling was conducted by real-time quantitative PCR, and data were quality controlled before statistical analysis. Whether protein levels are affected as well remains to be investigated.