Enhanced expression of the stemness-related factors OCT4, SOX15 and TWIST1 in ectopic endometrium of endometriosis patients

摘要

Background Current evidence suggests that endometrial-derived stem cells, spilled in the peritoneal cavity via retrograde menstruation, are key players in the establishment of endometriotic lesions. The aim of this study was to determine the presence and distribution of the stemness-related factors OCT4, SOX15, TWIST1 and DCAMLK1 in women with and without endometriosis. Methods Immunohistochemical analysis was used to determine stromal and epithelial expression of OCT4, SOX15, TWIST1 and DCAMLK1 in endometriosis patient (EP) endometrium ( n =?69) and endometriotic tissue ( n =?90) and in control endometrium ( n =?50). Quantitative Real-Time PCR of OCT4, SOX15 TWIST1 and DCAMLK1 was performed in paired samples of EP endometrium and endometriotic tissue. Co-immunofluorescence staining was performed for OCT4 and SOX15. For statistical analyses we used unpaired t -test, Fisher combination test and Spearman test. For paired analyses, paired t -test and McNemar test were used. Results We detected a significant correlation between the expression of the established stem cell marker OCT4 and the stemness-related markers SOX15 ( p Conclusion Our findings support the hypothesis that upregulation of stem cell-related factors contribute to the establishment of endometriotic lesions. Trial registration The study was approved by the institutional review board (545/2010?on 6th of May 2014) of the Medical University of Vienna ( http://ethikkommission.meduniwien.ac.at/fileadmin/ethik/media/dokumente/register/alle_2010.pdf ).