Expression of Annexin-1 in patients with endometriosis
Chun-yan Li1, Jing-he Lang, Hai-yuan Liu
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.
Background:
Annexin-1 was identified as an endometriosis-related protein by comparative proteomics in previous study. As an endogenous anti-inflammatory mediator, Annexin-1 has been shown to regulate the immune response, cell proliferation and apoptosis. To investigate whether Annexin-1 is involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis, we examined the expression of Annexin-1 in eutopic endometrium of women with or without endometriosis, and detected its expression in peritoneal fluids of those with endometriosis.
Methods:
Eutopic endometrium samples from twenty-five women with endometriosis and those from sixteen age-matched women without endometriosis were collected. Peritoneal fluids were obtained from ten patients with endometriosis. The expression of Annexin-1 protein in eutopic endometrium was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting, and mRNA detected by real-time PCR. Annexin-1 protein in the peritoneal fluids was detected by Western blotting.
Results:
Annexin-1 mRNA and protein were overexpressed in eutopic endometrium of endometriosis without significant differences between the proliferative and secretory phase. Immunohistochemistry showed that Annexin-1 protein was expressed mainly in endometrial glandular cells throughout the menstrual cycle. Annexin-1 protein was detected in the peritoneal fluids of all the ten patients with endometriosis.
Conclusions:
Annexin-1 is overexpressed in eutopic endometrium and presents in the peritoneal fluids of patients with endometriosis, and may play a role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.
