title: Peripheral blood telomere content is greater in patients with endometriosis than in controls.
abstract: The etiology of endometriosis remains poorly understood but circulating stem cells may contribute. Telomeres shorten with cell divisions and age. Stem cells attempt to compensate for telomere attrition through the action of telomerase. Since circulating stem cells may contribute to endometriosis, we compared telomere content in lymphocytes of patients with and without endometriosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational study comparing peripheral lymphocytes telomere content, measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, in patients with (n = 86) and without endometriosis (n = 21).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with endometriosis had longer telomeres than that of matched, endometriosis-free controls (telomere to single copy gene ratio [T/S ratio] of 1.62 vs 1.34, respectively, P = .00002). Patients with endometriosis were 8.1-fold more likely to have long telomeres. (odds ratio = 8.1, 95% confidence interval: 1.28-51.57, P = .0264).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Longer telomeres could be consistent with a stem cell origin of endometriosis.
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA Endometriosis Department of the Medical School of Sao Paulo University, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil roberta_dracxler@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Roberta C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Dracxler
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kalmbach
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Immunology Department of the Medical School of Sao Paulo University, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Kallas
authors.affiliation: Immunology Department of the Medical School of Sao Paulo University, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: M T M
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Giret
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Seth-Smith
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Antunes
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Keefe
authors.affiliation: Endometriosis Department of the Medical School of Sao Paulo University, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Abrao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D059505:Telomere Homeostasis
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers
keywords: endometriosis; telomerase; telomere