title: A Proteomic Analysis of Human Uterine Myoma.
abstract: Uterine leiomyoma is a benign smooth muscle tumor characterized by a high incidence in women of reproductive age. The aetiology of this tumor is still unknown but established risk factors include high levels of female hormones, family history, African ancestry, early age of menarche and obesity. Here, to identify proteomic features associated with this tumor type, we performed a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis of uterine myomas. The identified proteins were subjected to a gene ontology analysis to generate biological functions, molecular processes, and protein networks that were relevant to the uploaded dataset. Pathway-based analysis was an effective approach to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease and to create biological hypotheses about regulation of our proteins including the identification of upstream regulators and main protein nodes. Moreover, proteomic and in silico data were combined with immunohistochemistry and western blotting to identify a group of proteins representative of some selected pathways, with a dysregulated expression in myoma, pseudocapsule, and normal myometrium samples. Based on these results, we confirmed the over-expression of extracellular matrix components, and estrogen and progesterone receptors in uterine myomas, and proposed biological networks, canonical pathways and functions that may be relevant to the pathophysiology of this tumor.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rizzello
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Franck
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pellegrino
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Nuccio
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Simeone
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Di Tommaso
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malvasi
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tinelli
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fournier
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salzet
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, via Monteroni, Lecce, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maffia
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vergara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D009215:Myometrium / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D020543:Proteome / Q000235:genetics*; D040901:Proteomics; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D020543:Proteome
keywords: Uterine fibroids; estrogen receptor; extracellular
  matrix; mass spectrometry; progesterone receptor; pseudocapsule; system biology