Proteomic analysis of protein expression in the eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis

Endometriosis affects 10-15% of the female population during their reproductive years. Although the pathogenesis of this disease is undefined, the presence of endometrium-like tissue plaques outside of the uterus could implicate the eutopic endometrium in the origin of the disease. Utilising a proteomic approach the protein expression profile of the eutopic endometrium of women without endometriosis (n = 12) was compared to that in eutopic endometrium of women with a confirmed diagnosis of endometriosis (n = 6) (both in the secretory phase of the cycle). Eight hundred and twenty protein spots were matched on 2-D gels, with a total of 119 proteins regulated differentially between endometriotic and control tissue (matched and unmatched spots). Of the 50 highest fold change proteins 21 proteins were found only in the endometriosis affected sample group. Protein sub-categorisation depending on each protein function revealed major up- and down-regulation in several areas including apoptosis, immune reaction, glycolytic pathway, cell structure and transcription factors. The differences seen in this pilot study show the potential of proteomic applications in endometriosis research for determining diagnostics and pathogenesis characterisation, as well as the future development of targeted drug treatments.