Open AccessZEB1 expression is a potential indicator of invasive endometriosis
Author(s) -
Furuya Masataka,
Masuda Hirotaka,
Hara Kanako,
Uchida Hiroshi,
Sato Kenji,
Sato Suguru,
Asada Hironori,
Maruyama Tetsuo,
Yoshimura Yasunori,
Katabuchi Hidetaka,
Tanaka Mamoru,
Saya Hideyuki
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
acta obstetricia et gynecologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1600-0412
pISSN - 0001-6349
DOI - 10.1111/aogs.13179
Subject(s) - endometriosis , vimentin , immunohistochemistry , epithelial–mesenchymal transition , adenomyosis , medicine , pathology , epithelium , mesenchymal stem cell , cancer research , cancer , metastasis
Although endometriosis is a benign disease, it shares some features with cancers, such as invasiveness and the potential to metastasize. This study sought to investigate the epithelial‐mesenchymal transition status in human endometriotic lesions. Material and methods Thirteen endometriosis patients and 10 control women without endometriosis undergoing surgery for benign indications were recruited. We examined the expression of E‐cadherin, vimentin, and epithelial‐mesenchymal transition‐induced transcriptional factors, such as Snail and ZEB 1, by immunohistochemistry. We evaluated the expression of each marker in epithelial cells of both endometriotic lesions (ovarian endometrioma, deep infiltrating endometriosis, adenomyosis) and normal endometria. The correlation between ZEB 1 expression and serum level of CA125 was also investigated. Results Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that although E‐cadherin, vimentin, and Snail were expressed in epithelia of normal endometria and endometriotic lesions, ZEB 1 expression was only expressed in epithelia of endometriotic lesions. Additionally, ZEB 1 was most frequently observed in epithelial cells of invasive endometriosis. The endometriosis patients with high serum CA 125 level were more likely to have ZEB 1‐positive lesions. Conclusions This is the first observation of ZEB 1 expression in epithelial cells of benign disease. The preferential expression of ZEB 1 in epithelial cells of endometriotic lesions suggests that these cells may have, at least in part, a higher level of mesenchymal features possibly via ZEB 1‐driven epithelial‐mesenchymal transition than normal endometria and that ZEB 1 can be a potential indicator of invasiveness or severity of endometriosis.