Project description:Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent inflammatory disease. A pivotal contributor to endometriosis is the estrogen receptor beta (ERβ), which drives the condition by impeding cell death through interferon (IFN) signaling. One noteworthy component of this cascade is the N-myc and STAT Interactor (NMI), an interferon alpha (IFNα) target gene whose expression is repressed in endometriotic lesions compared to normal endometrium. This repression is particularly pronounced in stromal cells, mediated by ERβ. The results of Western blot analyses, comparing IFNα-treated and untreated cells, demonstrate that IFNα treatment triggers cell death signaling, including apoptosis and necroptosis, in endometrial stromal cells. Intriguingly, NMI knockdown (KD) obstructed IFNα-induced cell death signaling in human endometrial stromal cells. Moreover, NMI KD amplified non-canonical IFNα pathways, such as β-Catenin/GSK3β and PI3K/AKT signaling, in endometrial stromal cells following IFNα treatment. RNA sequencing analyses unveiled that NMI KD augmented the expression of genes responsible for cell-cell adhesion and extracellular structural organization in IFNα-independent manners. These findings suggest that NMI KD plays an indispensable role in enhancing the adhesion and invasion of endometriotic cells during endometriosis progression. In summary, NMI functions as an endometriosis suppressor gene in endometriotic stromal cells, curbing the advancement of endometriosis. This intricate interplay of ERβ, IFNα signaling, and NMI offers novel insights into the mechanisms governing endometriosis development.
Project description:Endometriosis shows significant lesion heterogeneity, but pathophysiological mechanisms leading to differences in clinical presentation are poorly understood. Here we utilized primary stromal cells from different types of endometriotic lesions to better understand the molecular mechanisms that lead to endometriosis heterogeneity. For this aim, endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) were obtained from eutopic endometrium (EU), endometrioma (OMA), superficial (SF) and deep (DE) endometriosis lesions and analyzed in vitro for their behavior regarding proliferation, migration, and contractility. Proteomics was used to explore the molecular mechanism underlying the observed changes.
Project description:TCF21 expression is upregulated in ectopic endometrial tissues and stromal cells in endometriosis patients and contributes to the pathogenesis of endometriosis. To explore TCF21-dependent gene regulation, Cleavage Under Targets and Tagmentation (CUT&Tag) was conducted and revealed that TCF21 transcriptionally activated a cohort of genes in endometriotic stromal cells.
Project description:Background Reduced endometrial receptivity is a major factor for impaired fertility in endometriosis (EMS). Endometrial deposition of collagen I proteins may account for poor endometrial receptivity in endometriosis. Methods We investigated the expression of collagen I expression in endometrium of endometriosis patients and in constructed EMS mice model. Effect of collagen I on ESCs was evaluated. Co-culture of exosomes with ESCs was conducted to evaluate the uptake of exosomes by different endometrial cell lines and the effect on decidualization of eutopic ESCs and embryo implantation. MiRNA expression profiles were compared between ectopic ESC derived exosomes and eutopic ESC derived exosomes. Luciferase reporter and its mutant plasmids were applied to confirm the direct target of miR-25-3p. Findings Here we found endometrial collagen I deposition with impaired decidualization in endometriosis patients and EMS mice model. Treatment of collagen I with ESCs contributed to impaired decidualization and inhibited BLS expansion in vitro. Endometriotic stromal cell-derived exosomes were detected in eutopic endometrium and the ectopic endometrial stromal cell derived exosomes were more taken-up by the same cell line in eutopic endometrium. Treatment of endometriotic stromal cell-derived exosomes increased the expression of endometrial collagen I in vitro and in vivo, while inhibited BLS expansion. Exosomal miR-25-3p was significantly increased in endometriotic stromal cell-derived exosomes compared with control group, and PTEN is a certain target of miR-25-3p. The promotion of endometrial miR-25-3p significantly increased collagen I expression in vitro through the PTEN/Akt pathway. Interpretation These results suggested that endometriotic stromal cell-derived exosomal miR-25-3p played key role in inducing endometrial collagen I deposition to impair embryo expansion in endometriosis via PTEN/Akt pathway. Funding National Nature Science Foundation of China (82271702), National Natural Science Foundation of China (81771537). Keywords: endometriosis; exosome; collagen I; miRNA; collagen deposition
Project description:Endometriosis is a prevalent health condition in women of reproductive age characterized by ectopic growth of endometrial tissue in the extrauterine environment. Thorough understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease are still lacking and incomplete. We dissect eutopic and ectopic endometrial primary stromal cell proteomes to a depth of nearly 6900 proteins using quantitative mass-spectrometry with a spike-in SILAC standard. Acquired data reveal metabolic reprogramming of ectopic stromal cells of endometriosis with extensive upregulation of glycolysis and down-regulation of oxidative respiration – a wide-spread metabolic phenotype previously described in many cancers. Our results also underlie other molecular changes of ectopic endometriotic stromal cells indicating reduced apoptotic potential, increased cellular adhesiveness/invasiveness and altered immune function. The changes related to metabolism are additionally reflected by attenuated aerobic respiration of ectopic endometrial stromal cells measured by live cell oximetry and by altered mRNA levels. These comprehensive proteomics data refine the current understanding of endometriosis presenting potential new avenues for therapies.
Project description:Current interventions for endometriosis mainly involve hormone therapies but have limited efficacy and unacceptable side effects, due to the lack of selectivity to distinguish between endometriosis and endometrial tissues. Elucidating the molecular mechanism underlying rapid growth of endometrial-like stromal cells, one of the main components of endometriotic lesions, will pave a path for more effective treatment of endometriosis. In the current study, we utilized transcriptome sequencing to compare the transcriptional profiles of endometrial-like stromal cells from endometriosis and endometrial tissues and demonstrated that Homeobox C4 (HOXC4) is preferentially expressed in endometriotic lesions. HOXC4 is indispensable for the proliferation of stromal cells from endometriosis, but not those from endometrial tissues. Mechanistically, HOXC4 acts as a transcription factor to promote the expression of Slit Guidance Ligand 2 (SLIT2) and thereby, increases the p38 MAPK activity via the SLIT2 receptor Roundabout Guidance Receptor 1 (ROBO1). Considering the essential role of the p38 MAPK activity in facilitating the development of ectopic endometrium, our findings strongly support the idea of HOXC4, as well as the SLIT2-ROBO1 axis, being as potential therapeutic targets for endometriosis.
Project description:Compulsory expression of miR-210 in normal endometrial stromal cells directed the induction of cell proliferation and vascular endothelial growth factor production, and the inhibition of apoptosis in through signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation. Accumulating evidence suggests that microRNAs play definite roles in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. The objective of the study was to determine the role of miR-210, one of the upregulated microRNA in endometriotic cyst stromal cells, in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Downstream targets of miR-210 were identified by Compulsory expression of miR-210 in normal eutopic endometrial stromal cells, a global mRNA microarray technique, and Ingenuity pathways analysis.
Project description:Endometriosis is a prevalent health condition in women of reproductive age characterized by ectopic growth of endometrial tissue in the extrauterine environment. Thorough understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease are still lacking and incomplete. We dissect eutopic and ectopic endometrial primary stromal cell proteomes to a depth of nearly 6900 proteins using quantitative mass-spectrometry with a spike-in SILAC standard. Acquired data reveal metabolic reprogramming of ectopic stromal cells of endometriosis with extensive upregulation of glycolysis and down-regulation of oxidative respiration – a wide-spread metabolic phenotype previously described in many cancers. Our results also underlie other molecular changes of ectopic endometriotic stromal cells indicating reduced apoptotic potential, increased cellular adhesiveness/invasiveness and altered immune function. The changes related to metabolism are additionally reflected by attenuated aerobic respiration of ectopic endometrial stromal cells measured by live cell oximetry and by altered mRNA levels. These comprehensive proteomics data refine the current understanding of endometriosis presenting potential new avenues for therapies.
Project description:Endometriosis shows significant lesion heterogeneity, but pathophysiological mechanisms leading to differences in clinical presentation are poorly understood. Here we utilized primary stromal cells from different types of endometriotic lesions to better understand the molecular mechanisms that lead to endometriosis heterogeneity. For this project, endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) were obtained from eutopic endometrium (EU), endometrioma (OMA), superficial (SF) and deep (DE) endometriosis lesions and analyzed in vitro for their behavior regarding proliferation, migration, and contractility. RNA sequencing was performed to explore the molecular mechanism underlying the observed changes.
Project description:We utilized fluorescence-activated cell sorting to isolate endometrial stromal cells from paired endometrial and endometrioma biopsies and combined it with high-throughput sequencing to determine miRNA alterations in endometriotic stroma. The analysis revealed 149 abnormally expressed miRNAs in endometriotic lesions, including extensive upregulation of miR-139-5p and downregulation of miR-375 compared to eutopic cells. The results of this study provide further insights into the complex molecular mechanisms involved in endometriosis pathogenesis and demonstrate the necessity for cell-type specific analysis of ectopic tissues to understand the interactions between different cell populations in disease onset and progression.