Aromatase CYP19A1, progesterone receptor PGR and estrogen receptor ESR1 gene expression in biopsy specimens of endometrioid heterotopia and endometrial tissue by reverse transcription PCR

Abstract

Hypothesis/aims of study. Endometriosis is one of the most pressing problems of gynecology. Clarifying the expression of the estrogen receptor (ESR1) and the progesterone receptor (PGR) genes and polymorphisms in the aromatase (CYP19A1) gene in endometriosis will expand the understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and the causes of resistance to its therapy. The objective of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of mRNA expression of PGR, ESR1 and CYP19A1 genes in paired samples of the eutopic endometrium and peritoneal endometrioid lesions in order to search for predictive markers of response to hormonal therapy. In the future, this may allow personalizing the selection of hormonal preparations for the treatment of endometriosis.
 Study design, materials and methods. Reverse transcription real-time PCR made it possible to evaluate CYP19A1, PGR and ESR1 gene expression levels in studied tissue samples from 22 patients with endometriosis and 9 women in the comparison group.
 Results. Quantitative analysis revealed a high heterogeneity in the expression level of the studied genes, in both the endometrium and endometrioid lesions from patients with endometriosis. In the endometrium of patients in the comparison group, the heterogeneity of the expression level was observed only for the ESR1 gene.
 Conclusion. Our findings suggest a high variability in CYP19A1, ESR1 and PGR gene expression levels in the endometrium and peritoneal foci in patients with endometriosis. This information indicates the need for an individual approach to prescribing targeted therapy, since it is obvious that the effect of treatment will depend primarily on the availability of a therapeutic target in a particular patient. The absence of a typical expression pattern for each of the genes in patients with endometriosis indicates the heterogeneity of the disease and the need to develop a molecular classification of this common pathology.