Universidad de Murcia. Departamento de Biología Celular e Histología
Abstract
Endometriosis is a benign gynecological
disease affecting approximately 10-15% of women of
reproductive age and 25-50% of all infertile women. It is
characterized by the presence of glands and/or
endometrial stroma outside the uterine cavity.
Angiogenesis is a crucial process for the development
and maintenance of endometriotic lesions. The Wnt/βcatenin pathway is a major promoter of angiogenesis in
both physiological and pathological conditions. In the
present study, we evaluated the expression of molecules
related to the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in a rat model of
peritoneal endometriosis. mRNA analyses showed
significantly increased expression of Wnt4 and Wnt7b
and decreased expression of Gsk3beta and E-cadherin in
endometriotic lesions. However, there were no
differences in β-catenin and Fzd2 mRNA expression. In
addition, we observed a significant increase of nuclear
β-catenin in endometriotic lesions, a hallmark of Wnt/ β
-catenin pathway activation. Stromal β-catenin staining
was found in 45.4% of endometrial tissues and 77.8% of
endometriotic lesions. β-catenin nuclear localization was
found in 18.2% of the endometrial tissues and 33.3% of
endometriotic lesions. Finally, the expression of
galectin-3, a regulator of this pathway, was increased in
endometriosis. In summary, this pattern of Wnt/βcatenin components expression suggests an increased
activity of this pathway in endometriosis