Background

Human endometrium harbors stem/progenitor cells (SPCs) that may contribute to the establishment of endometriosis when seeded outside the uterus. Oct-4, C-kit and Musashi-1 are some of the many proteins used to characterize SPCs, but their association with endometriosis is uncertain.

Objective and Design

In this study, specimens of normal endometrium (n = 12), eutopic endometrium from women with endometriosis (n = 9), superficial peritoneal endometriosis (SUP, n = 12) and deep endometriosis (DE, n = 13) lesions were evaluated for localization and intensity of immunostaining for Oct-4, C-kit and Musashi-1.

Results

The three markers were abundantly expressed in normal endometrium, eutopic endometrium from endometriosis patients, SUP and DE specimens. Oct-4 and C-kit expression did not vary across groups as regards intensity or frequency. C-kit staining signal was seldom detected in vascular endothelium of normal or eutopic endometrium from endometriosis patients; however, it was positive in 67% of the SUP lesions and in 25% of the DE lesions (p = 0.042). Musashi-1 was expressed in some endometriotic glands as cell clusters, but its signal was similar between the four types of tissue (p = 0.971)

Conclusion

The wide distribution of Oct-4, C-kit and Musashi-1 in endometria of patients with and without endometriosis and in SUP and DE endometriotic lesions suggests that these markers are not suitable for the in situ characterization of endometrial SPCs and should not be taken as surrogates for the study of SPCs in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.

中文翻译：

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干/祖细胞生物标志物 Oct-4、C-kit 和 Musashi-1 在子宫内膜异位症病变中的免疫定位

背景

人类子宫内膜含有干/祖细胞 (SPC)，当在子宫外播种时，这些干/祖细胞可能有助于子宫内膜异位症的形成。Oct-4、C-kit 和 Musashi-1 是用于表征 SPC 的众多蛋白质中的一些，但它们与子宫内膜异位症的关联尚不确定。

目标与设计

在这项研究中，对正常子宫内膜（n = 12）、子宫内膜异位症女性的在位子宫内膜（n = 9）、浅表腹膜子宫内膜异位症（SUP，n = 12）和深部子宫内膜异位症（DE，n = 13）病变进行了评估Oct-4、C-kit 和 Musashi-1 免疫染色的定位和强度。

结果

这三种标志物在正常子宫内膜、子宫内膜异位症患者的在位子宫内膜、SUP 和 DE 标本中大量表达。Oct-4 和 C-kit 表达在强度或频率方面没有因组而异。子宫内膜异位症患者正常或在位子宫内膜血管内皮很少检测到C-kit染色信号；然而，67% 的 SUP 病变和 25% 的 DE 病变呈阳性 (p = 0.042)。Musashi-1 在一些子宫内膜异位腺体中以细胞簇的形式表达，但其信号在四种组织之间相似（p = 0.971）

结论

Oct-4、C-kit 和 Musashi-1 在子宫内膜异位症和非子宫内膜异位症患者的子宫内膜以及 SUP 和 DE 子宫内膜异位病变中的广泛分布表明这些标志物不适用于子宫内膜 SPC 的原位表征，不应采用作为研究 SPC 在子宫内膜异位症发病机制中的替代物。