Rafał Tarkowski

Investigation of glutathione concentrations in peritoneal fluid from women with and without endometriosis

UNLABELLED Changes in the peritoneal fluid (PF) environment have been implicated in the pathogenesis of endometriosis as well as in the decrease of fertility. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the concentration of glutathione in PF of women with endometriosis. PATIENTS Twenty-one patients with endometriosis (I or II rAFS stage, n=11; III or IV rAFS stage, n=10), and 29 patients with follicular or dermoid ovarian cysts (n=17 and n=12, respectively). RESULTS Mean (+/-S.D.) PF glutathione concentration was 0.22+/-0.01 micromol/ml in patients with minimal or mild endometriosis, 0.21+/-0.05 micromol/ml in women with III or IV stage of the disease, 0.24 +/- 0.03 micromol/ml in women with follicle ovarian cysts, and 0.23+/-0.05 micromol/ml in patients with dermoid tumors of ovaries. No significant difference in the peritoneal glutathione level was found between the groups. CONCLUSION These results suggest that PF glutathione is not involved in the progression of endometriosis.

Molecular bases of aberrant miR-182 expression in ovarian cancer.

The molecular bases of miR‐182 deregulation in epithelial ovarian cancers (EOCs) remain unknown and its diagnostic or prognostic role in EOCs is still unclear. We performed miR‐182 expression analysis using a microarray approach and real‐time PCR (qPCR). We also used array comparative genomic hybridization and methylated DNA immunoprecipitation to study copy number changes and methylation aberrations within coding locus/promoter sequences of miR‐182 in EOC tissues, respectively. We have found that miR‐182 expression is significantly increased in EOC (P < 0.00001) and that higher miR‐182 expression in EOC is linked with significantly shorter overall survival (P = 0.026). The methylation of miR‐182 promoter was significantly associated with lower miR‐182 expression in EOC tissues (P = 0.045). miR‐182 over‐expression is connected with copy number (CN) gains of this miRNA coding sequences in EOC (P = 0.002), and the number of PRDM5 copies is significantly and inversely correlated with miR‐182 expression evaluated by qPCR (R = −0.615, P = 0.009). We conclude that the aberrant miR‐182 expression in EOC may be due to CN gains within its coding locus. The miR‐182 promoter is rarely methylated in EOC, and its methylation status is associated with lower miR‐182 expression. Deletion of the PRDM5 locus may play a supportive role in miR‐182 overexpression in EOC. miR‐182 is an unfavorable prognostic factor in EOC.

Decreased lactoferrin levels in peritoneal fluid of women with minimal endometriosis.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to evaluate for the presence of lactoferrin (LTF) in peritoneal fluid (PF) of women with and without endometriosis. PATIENTS Seventy-eight women were studied, including 49 women with endometriosis and, as a reference group, 29 patients with functional follicle ovarian cysts. RESULTS Lactoferrin levels were detectable in all peritoneal fluid samples. Women with minimal endometriosis had lower PF lactoferrin concentrations compared to both patients with high revised American Fertility Society classification scores and women with follicle ovarian cysts. No significant difference in the peritoneal LTF levels was found between patients with stage II endometriosis, stage III or IV endometriotic disease and women with functional cysts of ovaries. CONCLUSIONS Owing to its antibacterial properties lactoferrin is probably an important defense factor in the peritoneal cavity, however its role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis remains enigmatic.