Inhibition of Type 1 17β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Impairs the Synthesis of 17β-Estradiol in Endometriosis Lesions

摘要

Context:Endometriosis affects 10% of the women before menopause and has important personal, professional, and societal economic burdens. Because current medical treatments are aimed at reducing the symptoms only, novel therapeutic targets should be identified. Endometriosis is estrogen dependent and in some patients the endometriosis tissue is able to produce estrogens in an autocrine/paracrine manner. In a number of patients, this is the consequence of the high local activity of the 17β-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenases (17β-HSDs), enzymes able to generate active estrogens from precursors with low activity.