title: The role and significance of endomorphin-1 and μ-opioid receptor in rats with endometriosis.
abstract: Endomorphin-1 (EM-1) was reported to have very high affinity and selectivity for μ-opioid receptor (MOR). However, it remained unclear whether EM-1 and MOR were involved in the pathologies of endometriosis resulting in reduced fertility. In this study, RT-PCR, radioimmunoassay, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot were used, respectively. The results showed that the immune positive cells of EM-1 in hypothalamus, pituitary, and ovaries were significantly increased in endometriosis model rats, accompanied by the increase of plasma level of EM-1 and the decrease of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), and progesterone (P). Interestingly, EM-1 was negatively correlated with FSH and LH (p < 0.05). More importantly, Naloxone (MOR antagonist) can significantly reduce the levels of EM-1 in serum, hypothalamus, pituitary, and ovaries, while increased the levels of FSH and LH. In conclusion, our results suggested that EM-1 may be involved in the pathogenesis of the endometriosis-associated infertility by regulating hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis, and Naloxone may be a new alternative drug for the treatment of endometriosis.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics and.
authors.forename: Lijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: b Department of Endocrinology , Gansu Provincial People's Hospital , Lanzhou , PR China.
authors.forename: Jinyang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics and.
authors.forename: Xiaotong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: a Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics and.
authors.forename: Xueping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: a Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics and.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: a Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics and.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: a Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics and.
authors.forename: Hailin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009842:Oligopeptides; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu; C105293:endomorphin 1
keywords: Endometriosis; MOR; endomorphin-1; gonadal hormone; infertile