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Increased levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) can initiate protective responses to limit or repair oxidative damage. However, H2O2 signals also fine-tune responses to growth factors and cytokines controlling cell division, differentiation, and proliferation. Because 17β-estradiol (E2) also plays important roles in these processes, and is considered a major risk factor in the development and progression of endometriosis, this study evaluated whether E2 has an antiapoptotic effect on oxidative stress in endometrial cells in combination with steady-state H2O2 levels ([H2O2]ss). Endometrial stromal cells were prepared from the eutopic endometrium of 18 women with and without endometriosis to produce primary cells. These cells were stimulated with E2 for 20h, exposed to [H2O2]ss, and examined for cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis. The endometrial cells from women with endometriosis maintained the steady state for 120min at high H2O2 concentrations. When they were pretreated with E2 and exposed to [H2O2]ss, a decrease in apoptosis level was observed compared to the control cells (p<0.01). The endometrial cells from patients with endometriosis subjected to both E2 and [H2O2]ss showed increased ERK phosphorylation. These findings suggested that H2O2 is a signaling molecule that downregulates apoptosis in endometrial cells, supporting the fact that endometriosis, albeit a benign disease, shares some features with cancer such as decreased catalase levels. These results link the E2 effects on [H2O2]ss to resistance to apoptosis and progression of endometriosis., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of the p27 gene polymorphism in women with endometriosis., Study Design: Transversal case-control study. Genomic DNA was extracted from cells collected from buccal swabs. The p27 V109G polymorphism was investigated using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method in a hospital-based Brazilian population., Results: We analysed the 104 patients and 109 control subjects. The distribution of genotype and allele frequencies of p27 V109G polymorphism was significantly different between the endometriosis cases and healthy women (p=0.016 and 0.002). Women who had at least one mutated allele presented twofold chances for endometriosis development (OR=1.9; 95% CI, 1.120-3.343)., Conclusion: The polymorphic variant at codon 109 of the p27 gene seems to be associated with higher risk of endometriosis development.

Objective: To evaluate the association of intron 1 and exon 1 polymorphisms in the estrogen receptor alpha gene (ER-alpha) with endometriosis in women., Design: Association study., Setting: Endometriosis Unit, Federal University of São Paulo., Patient(s): The control group consisted of volunteers older than 45 years who had no evidence of endometriosis antecedents. Two groups with the disease were evaluated: the first group had stage I or II endometriosis and the second group stage III or IV., Intervention(s): Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by digestion with HaeIII and MspI endonucleases (RFLP) were applied to detect intron 1 and exon 1 polymorphisms, respectively, in a total of 125 controls and 105 affected women., Main Outcome Measure(s): Frequency and distribution of HaeIII and MspI polymorphisms in ER-alpha., Result(s): No significant differences in the frequency of polymorphisms either in intron 1 or exon 1 of ER-alpha were found when endometriosis patients were compared with control subjects. Furthermore, the frequency of ER-alpha polymorphisms within the two different groups of patients with disease was statistically similar. The odds ratio between presence of intron 1 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and endometriosis was 0.904, and the odds ratio between exon 1 SNP and endometriosis was 0.976., Conclusion(s): The evaluated polymorphisms were not associated with endometriosis.

We designed the present study in order to evaluate the eventual role of polymorphisms in the genes encoding cytochrome P450c17alpha (CYP17) and the progesterone receptor (PROGINS) as risk factors for endometriosis development. Eligible cases consisted of 121 women with surgically confirmed endometriosis who underwent treatment in a hospital in São Paulo, Brazil during the period from September 2003 to September 2005. The 281 controls were participants with normal gynecological as well as pelvic ultrasound evaluation, who did not have any gynecological conditions during their reproductive lives such as pelvic pain and/or dyspareunia nor infertility history. Genomic DNA was obtained from buccal cells and processed for DNA extraction using the GFX DNA extraction kit (GE Healthcare). The CYP17 (-34T-->C) polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay has been described previously, as has the progesterone receptor polymorphism (PROGINS) detection assay. PROGINS heterozygosis genotype frequencies were shown to be statistically higher in endometriosis cases compared with controls. On the other hand, differences in the CYP17 polymorphism (-34T-->C) frequencies were not even close to significance (p = 0.278) according to our findings.

To study possible correlation between the prevalence of polymorphisms in the type I interleukin-1 receptor gene and pelvic endometriosis. Genotypes of 223 women were analyzed: 109 women with surgically and histologically confirmed endometriosis and 114 healthy women. Distributions of two single-base polymorphisms of the human interleukin-1 receptor type I (IL-1RI) gene were evaluated: PstI, due to a C-->T transition in exon 1B and BsrBI a C-->A transition at position 52 in exon 1C. Polymorphisms were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (RFLP) resolved on 3% agarose gels stained with ethidium bromide. Genotypes for PstI polymorphisms did not differ significantly among control and endometriosis (P = 0.058). However, in relation to BsrBI polymorphism, protective risk was observed for the development of endometriosis [OR 0.39-IC 95% (0.2-0.9)]. BsrBI heterozygote genotype (C/A) showed protective effect against endometriosis development.