title: Ecto-nucleotidases activities in the contents of ovarian endometriomas: potential biomarkers of endometriosis.
abstract: Endometriosis, defined as the growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus, is a common gynecologic condition affecting millions of women worldwide. It is an inflammatory, estrogen-dependent complex disorder, with broad symptomatic variability, pelvic pain, and infertility being the main characteristics. Ovarian endometriomas are frequently developed in women with endometriosis. Late diagnosis is one of the main problems of endometriosis; thus, it is important to identify biomarkers for early diagnosis. The aim of the present work is to evaluate the ecto-nucleotidases activities in the contents of endometriomas. These enzymes, through the regulation of extracellular ATP and adenosine levels, are key enzymes in inflammatory processes, and their expression has been previously characterized in human endometrium. To achieve our objective, the echo-guided aspirated fluids of endometriomas were analyzed by evaluating the ecto-nucleotidases activities and compared with simple cysts. Our results show that enzyme activities are quantifiable in the ovarian cysts aspirates and that endometriomas show significantly higher ecto-nucleotidases activities than simple cysts (5.5-fold increase for ATPase and 20-fold for ADPase), thus being possible candidates for new endometriosis biomarkers. Moreover, we demonstrate the presence of ecto-nucleotidases bearing exosomes in these fluids. These results add up to the knowledge of the physiopathologic mechanisms underlying endometriosis and, open up a promising new field of study.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Patologia i Terapèutica Experimental, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Campus de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Texidó
authors.affiliation: Departament de Patologia i Terapèutica Experimental, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Campus de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.affiliation: Departament de Patologia i Terapèutica Experimental, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Campus de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain ; Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain ; Servei d'Anatomia Patològica, Hospital de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: August
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7651-5559
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Cel · lular, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García-Valero
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain ; Servei de Ginecologia, Hospital de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M Eulalia
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Fernández Montoli
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain ; Servei d'Anatomia Patològica, Hospital de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Núria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Baixeras
authors.affiliation: Departament de Patologia i Terapèutica Experimental, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Campus de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain ; Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain ; Servei d'Anatomia Patològica, Hospital de Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Enric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Condom
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain ; Servei de Ginecologia, Hospital de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ponce
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain ; Servei de Ginecologia, Hospital de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Amparo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: García-Tejedor
authors.affiliation: Departament de Patologia i Terapèutica Experimental, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Campus de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain ; Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Mireia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martín-Satué
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008875:Middle Aged; D010048:Ovarian Cysts / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C027201:ectoATPase