The importance of NFATc۱ in endometriosis: a case-control study

Background: Endometriosis is a common, chronic inflammatory disease characterized by thepresence of extrauterine endometrial tissue mainly on pelvic organs and tissues. It has beenshown that the immune system has an important role in the development and increases theseverity of the disease. NFAT (Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cells) proteins are transcriptionfactors that are integral for the development and function of the immune system. The aim of thisstudy was to evaluate the expression level of NFATc۱ in endometriosis compare to eutopicendometrial tissue samples.Materials and Methods: The case group consisted of ۴۸ patients with pathological confirmationof endometriosis. Fifty endometrial specimens from patients who underwent laparoscopicexamination for simple ovarian cysts were used as a control group. We performed quantitativereal-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to determine the RNA expression changes inendometriotic and eutopic endometrial tissue samples. Total RNA was isolated from gastrictissue with TRIzol reagent. The purity and concentration of total RNA were assessed with aNanodrop UV-Vis spectrophotometer at ۲۶۰ and ۲۸۰ nm. Quantitative measurements wereperformed in triplicate and relative expression was measured using comparative Ct method(۲−ΔΔCt) and normalized to GAPDH as internal control.Results: In this study NFATc۱ expression in the ectopic endometria of endometriosis patientswas significantly lower than that in the normal endometrium (۱.۰۱±۰.۰۵ vs ۲.۱۵±۰.۳۴, p<۰.۰۵).Conclusion: Altered expression levels of NFATc۱ were observed in the tissues of the ectopicendometrium. This is a first report of importance of NFATc۱ in endometriosis. However, moreresearch is needed to fully elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of endometriosissusceptibility.

کلیدواژه ها:

NFATc۱ ، gene expression ، endometriosis ، real time PCR