title: Tissue remodeling and nonendometrium-like menstrual cycling are hallmarks of peritoneal endometriosis lesions.
abstract: We identified differentially expressed genes comparing peritoneal endometriosis lesions (n = 18), eutopic endometrium (n = 17), and peritoneum (n = 22) from the same patients with complete menstrual cycles using microarrays (54 675 probe sets) and immunohistochemistry. Peritoneal lesions and peritoneum demonstrated 3901 and 4973 significantly differentially expressed genes compared to eutopic endometrium, respectively. Peritoneal lesions significantly revealed no correlation with a specific menstrual cycle phase by gene expression and histopathology, exhibited low expressed proliferation genes, and constant levels of steroid hormone receptor genes. Tissue remodeling genes in cytoskeleton, smooth muscle contraction, cellular adhesion, tight junctions, and O-glycan biosynthesis were the most significant to lesions, including desmin and smooth muscle myosin heavy chain 11. Protein expression and location of desmin, alpha-actin, and h-caldesmon in peritoneal lesions discriminated between smooth muscle hyperplasia and metaplasia. Peritoneal lesions demonstrate no menstrual cycle phasing but constant steroid hormone receptor expression where a slow but steady growth is linked with tissue remodeling. Our study contributes to the molecular pathology of peritoneal endometriosis and will help to identify clinical targets for treatment and management.
authors.affiliation: Global Drug Discovery, Target Discovery, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sohler
authors.forename: Anette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Wachter
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agaimy
authors.forename: Oliver M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Stefan P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Renner
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burghaus
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Fasching
authors.forename: Matthias W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Beckmann
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Fuhrmann
authors.forename: Reiner
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Strick
authors.forename: Pamela L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Strissel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D004717:Endometrium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008597:Menstrual Cycle / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D010537:Peritoneum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D055815:Young Adult