Objective

To study the potential effect of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the endometrial transcriptome of affected, symptomatic women for the detection of altered gene expression.

Design

Pilot study of the endometrial transcriptomes of women manifesting COVID-19 compared with those of women without COVID-19 undergoing hysteroscopic procedures for benign gynecologic disorders using RNA sequencing.

Setting

Hospital and university laboratories.

Patient(s)

Women with (n = 14) and without a COVID-19 (n = 10) diagnosis based on a nasopharyngeal swab analysis using quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. The endometrium of the patients with COVID-19 had previously been tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, revealing the absence of the virus in this tissue.

Intervention(s)

Endometrial biopsy sample collection.

Main Outcomes Measure(s)

Endometrial gene expression and functional analysis of symptomatic patients with COVID-19 vs. individuals without the infection.

Result(s)

The systemic disease COVID-19 altered endometrial gene expression in 75% of the women, with the patients exhibiting a preponderance of 163 up-regulated (e.g., UTS2, IFI6, IFIH1, and BNIP3) and 72 down-regulated genes (e.g., CPZ, CDH3, and IRF4) (false discovery rate<0.05). A total of 161 dysregulated functions (36 up-regulated and 125 down-regulated) were typically enriched in the endometria of the patients with COVID-19, including up-regulation in pathways involved in the development of immune responses to viruses and cytokine inflammation, reflecting elicitation of a COVID-19 response pathway.

Conclusion(s)

Coronavirus disease 2019 affects endometrial gene expression despite the absence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA in endometrial tissues.

中文翻译：

---

2019冠状病毒病女性子宫内膜基因表达差异

客观的

研究冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 对受影响的有症状女性子宫内膜转录组的潜在影响，以检测基因表达的改变。

设计

使用 RNA 测序对表现出 COVID-19 的女性的子宫内膜转录组与未接受 COVID-19 的女性进行良性妇科疾病宫腔镜手术的子宫内膜转录组进行初步研究。

环境

医院和大学实验室。

病人）

根据使用定量逆转录聚合酶链反应进行的鼻咽拭子分析，有（n = 14）和没有 COVID-19（n = 10）诊断的女性。先前对 COVID-19 患者的子宫内膜进行了严重急性呼吸系统综合症冠状病毒 2 感染检测，结果表明该组织中不存在病毒。

干预措施

子宫内膜活检样本采集。

主要成果措施

有症状的 COVID-19 患者与未感染者的子宫内膜基因表达和功能分析。

结果）

全身性疾病 COVID-19 改变了 75% 的女性的子宫内膜基因表达，患者表现出 163个上调基因（例如UTS2、IFI6、IFIH1和BNIP3）和 72 个下调基因（例如CPZ ）的优势、CDH3和IRF4）（错误发现率<0.05）。COVID-19 患者的子宫内膜通常富集了总共 161 种失调的功能（36 种上调和 125 种下调），包括参与对病毒和细胞因子炎症的免疫反应发展的途径的上调，反映了 COVID-19 反应途径的引发。

结论

尽管子宫内膜组织中不存在严重急性呼吸系统综合症冠状病毒 2 RNA，但 2019 冠状病毒病仍会影响子宫内膜基因表达。