AUF-1 is regulated in the menstrual cycle and repressed in ectopic endometrium: implications for regulation of cytokine and growth factor expression in normal endometrium and endometriosis

Abstract

Cytokines and growth factors contribute to cyclic the turnover of normal endometrium and to the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) encoding cytokines or growth factors undergo rapid turnover that is primarily mediated by AU-rich elements (ARE) located in their 3' untranslated region (3'-UTR). AUF-1 is an RNA-binding protein that destabilizes ARE containing mRNAs and down-regulates their expression. We hypothesized that AUF-1 may play a role in the regulation of cytokine expression during normal menstrual cycle and in endometriosis.