%0 Journal Article
%T DNA hypomethylation of the COX-2 gene promoter is associated with up-regulation of its mRNA expression in eutopic endometrium of endometriosis
%A DanBo Wang
%A Qi Chen
%A ChiYuan Zhang
%A Fang Ren
%A Tong Li
%J European Journal of Medical Research
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/2047-783x-17-12
%X The endometrial tissues were collected from 60 women with endometriosis (endometriosis group) and 20 women without endometriosis (control group). The methylation status of COX-2 was examined by methylation specific PCR. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR was performed to measure COX-2 mRNA level in endometrial tissues.The frequency of promoter hypermethylation of COX-2 was lower in eutopic endometrium of the endometriosis group (41.7%) than that in the control group (75.0%), P£¿<£¿0.05. COX-2 mRNA level in the eutopic endometrium of the endometriosis group was 2.61-fold higher than that in the control group (P£¿<£¿0.01). COX-2 mRNA level in unmethylated endometrium of the endometriosis group or the control group was 2.39-fold and 2.66-fold, respectively, higher than that in the methylated endometrium of the same group (P£¿<£¿0.01).The hypomethylation within the promoter of COX-2 may be responsible for the elevated gene expression in eutopic endometrium of endometriosis.Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent gynecological disorder that affects 6-10% of women of reproductive age. It is characterized histologically by the presence of endometrial tissue at sites outside of the uterine cavity, primarily on the pelvic peritoneum and ovaries, resulting in severe pelvic pain, pain during intercourse, and infertility [1,2]. To date, the etiology and pathogenesis of endometriosis remain largely unknown. Endometriosis is a benign gynecological disease with malignant behaviors, such as enhanced proliferation and cell invasion, ectopic implantation of distant organs similar to the tumor metastasis. The eutopic endometrium of patients with endometriosis has various alterations compared with endometrium of healthy women [3]. Aberrant expression of genes in eutopic endometrium was reported be involved in cell adhesion, invasion, and angiogenesis, therefore it was quite critical to the pathogenesis of endometriosis [4-6].The ectopic endometrium of endometriosis often behaves unpredictably; it
%K Endometriosis
%K DNA hypomethylation
%K COX-2 mRNA expression
%K Epigenetics
%U http://www.eurjmedres.com/content/17/1/12