Possible involvement of the E-cadherin gene in genetic susceptibility to endometriosis
Kunihiko Yoshida1, Kosuke Yoshihara, Sosuke Adachi
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata, Japan.
Background:
Endometriotic cells display invasive characteristics, despite their benign histological appearance. Recently, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, in which epithelial cells acquire mesenchymal and migratory properties, has attracted attention as a mechanism of tumor invasion. We aimed to investigate the association between endometriosis and polymorphisms of the E-cadherin gene, a central player in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, in Japanese women.
Methods:
Twelve single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the E-cadherin gene were identified by real-time polymerase chain reaction using a TaqMan assay in 511 women with endometriosis (the majority in Stages III and IV) and 498 healthy controls.
Results:
Allele frequency analysis indicated that there was a marginally higher frequency of the rs4783689 C allele in women with endometriosis compared with controls (corrected P = 0.007; odds ratio = 1.37; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-1.64). No significant associations with endometriosis were found for the other 11 SNPs.
Conclusions:
Although this study was limited by sample size, the E-cadherin gene polymorphism rs4783689 was marginally associated with endometriosis in the Japanese population, suggesting that E-cadherin might be involved in genetic susceptibility to endometriosis.
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