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Polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs) are persistent environmental endocrine disruptor. This study aim to investigate the changes of the ectopic endometrium invasive ability and the possible mechanism after exposure to PCBs during pregnancy. In total, 12 female Sprague Dawley rats were intraperitoneally injected with Aroclor 1221 (1 mg/kg) or dimethyl sulfoxide (1 mg/kg) at 16 and 18 days of gestation. The endometriosis model was established by autogenous uterine abdominal wall implantation 2 months after birth. The degree of adhesion between the endometriosis and the greater omentum, as well as cell morphology and Transwell invasion patterns were used to evaluate the invasive ability of progeny ectopic endometrial stromal cells (ESCs). Moreover, the effect of the enhancer of zeste 2 polycomb repressive complex 2 subunit (EZH2)/ trimethylation of Histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3) axis was examined using a highly selective EZH2 inhibitor, GSK126. After gestational PCBs exposure, the adhesion between the endometrium and the greater omentum was enhanced (P

Background: Parturition involves the transformation of the quiescent myometrium to the laboring state, which is driven by changes in myometrial gene expression. This study aimed to identify myometrial transcriptomic signatures and potential novel hub genes in parturition, which have great significance for understanding successful parturition and treating labor pathologies such as preterm birth. Methods: In our study, human myometrium was collected from women in spontaneous term labor (TL=8) and term not in labor (TNL=8) to survey transcriptional changes associated with labor by using RNA-seq. We screened the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of functional enrichment analysis including GO and KEGG pathway analysis and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) to study the role of DEGs and potential underlying mechanisms of parturition. Moreover, we used protein-protein interactions network analysis to recognize the hub genes among these DEGs. Furthermore, the biological behavior of hub genes in myometrial contraction was verified by cellular experiments. Findings: A total of 582 DEGs were selected. The enrichment analysis revealed that DEGs were enriched in signal transduction, regulation of signaling receptor activity, inflammatory response, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, IL-17 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway and so on. FPR1 was highly expressed in laboring myometrium. The experimental results showed that activating FPR1 in human myometrial cells, resulted in increased myometrial contraction. Interpretation: The transcriptome analysis of term labor myometrium revealed that labor onset was associated with inflammatory response. Our findings implicate the novel role of FPR1 as a modulator of myometrial contraction. Funding: This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No.2018YFC1004603). Declaration of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. Ethical Approval: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Women’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University

Objective This study was performed to assess the predictive value of the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) serum level for spontaneous pregnancy in women after endometriosis surgery. Methods In total, 124 patients with suspected ovarian endometrioma planning to undergo laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy were divided into a high AMH group (AMH > 2 ng/mL) and low AMH group (AMH ≤ 2 ng/mL) according to their preoperative AMH levels. The postoperative AMH levels were also measured, and pregnancy outcomes were followed up. Results Twenty-one patients were excluded, and 52 pregnancies were registered in the remaining 103 patients diagnosed with endometriosis. The pregnancy rate was significantly greater in the high than low AMH group. Receiver operator characteristics analysis of preoperative AMH, postoperative AMH, and the AMH decline rate showed that preoperative AMH was associated with the greatest area under the curve. Kaplan–Meier curves showed that women in the high AMH group had a significantly higher cumulative pregnancy rate than those in the low AMH group. Conclusion The preoperative AMH level might be a useful marker to predict the occurrence of natural pregnancy and could be offered as part of the fertility strategy to women who desire pregnancy after endometriosis surgery.

Endometriosis is associated with inflammatory reaction, and reactive oxidative species (ROS) are highly pro-inflammatory factors. Mitochondria are responsible for the production of ROS and energy. However, little is known about how mitochondria regulate ROS generation and energy metabolism in endometriosis. In our study, we investigated mitochondrial structure and function of ectopic endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) in ovarian endometriosis. We found mitochondria in ectopic ESCs generated more ROS and energy than controlled groups. Mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (SOD2), as an antioxidant enzyme, was found highly expressed in ectopic endometrium compared with normal endometrium. Due to its antioxidant role, SOD2 promoted the development of endometriosis by maintaining functional mitochondria to support high energetic metabolism of ectopic ESCs. We also showed that SOD2 promoted cell proliferation and migration in ovarian endometriosis. Inhibiting SOD2 expression reduced proliferation and migration of ectopic ESCS, and increased cell apoptosis. Therefore, understanding the role of mitochondrial dysfunction and SOD2 in ovarian endometriosis may provide new strategies to treat this disease.

Objective This study was performed to assess whether prophylactic uterine artery embolization (UAE) is beneficial for second-trimester abortion with complete placenta previa (CPP). Methods Patients with CPP who underwent second-trimester pregnancy termination by labor induction with or without UAE from January 2010 to January 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. In total, 25 patients were eligible for analysis. The primary outcomes were the abortion success rate and bleeding volume, and the secondary outcomes were the induction-to-abortion time, length of hospital stay, and complications. Results CPP occurred in all 25 patients. Fifteen patients underwent prophylactic UAE (UAE group) and 10 did not (control group). Abortion was successful in 13 of 15 (86.7%) women in the UAE group and in 9 of 10 (90.0%) women in the control group. There was no significant difference in the bleeding volume or induction-to-abortion time between the two groups. The hospital stay was longer and pyrexia was more common in the UAE than control group. Conclusion Prophylactic UAE did not markedly improve the outcomes of second-trimester abortion in patients with CPP. Conversely, it may increase the risk of complications and prolong the hospital stay.

Aims The enhanced ability of endometrial cell migration and invasion is the foundation for formation of ectopic lesions in endometriosis. Ezrin has been reported to regulate cell motility by remodeling the cytoskeleton. However, little is known about the mechanisms through which ezrin remodels the cytoskeleton and cell structure to promote cell motility in endometriosis. Methods In our study, expression and distribution of ezrin, and Rho pathway were detected through immunohistochemical analysis. The effects of inhibiting ezrin T567 phosphorylation on Rho signaling pathway and cytoskeleton were investigated through western blot, transmission electron microscopy and immunofluorescence analysis. Key findings We found that the expression of ezrin and Rho pathway was higher in ectopic endometrium. NSC305787 inhibited the phosphorylation of ezrin T567, resulting in decreased expression of Rho pathway and reduced filopodia formation in ectopic endometrial stromal cells. Significance Taken together, our study suggested that ezrin T567 phosphorylation modulated migration and invasion of ectopic ESCs through actin reconstructions, which may serve as a novel therapeutic target in ovarian endometriosis.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as part of environmental contaminants, have been proved to be related to endometriosis. This study is to investigate the effect of PCB 104 on cell migration, invasion and resultant gene expression in endometrial stromal cells (ESCs). Fifty-three specimens of eutopic endometrial tissues were collected from twenty-four women with endometriosis (EU-EMS) and twenty-nine women without endometriosis (EU-NON). Both EU-EMS and EU-NON were divided into the PCB 104 exposure group and the control group according to whether they were exposed to PCB 104. Primary cultured ESCs were exposed to PCB 104 at the micro molar doses (2 × 10−3, 0.2 and 1 μmol/L) and concentrations of 2, 5 and 10 μmol/L in six-well plates. Cell mobility and proliferation assay were used to evaluate the effects of PCB 104 on the migration, invasion and proliferation of ESCs, and the effect of PCB 104 on actin cytoskeleton was also examined by immunofluorescence. Subsequently, the mRNA levels of related genes including matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) −2, −3, −9, −10, E-cadherin, Snail, Slug and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP) −2 in ESCs were examined by using real-time PCR, as well as protein levels of MMP-3 and MMP-10 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We explored the role of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in the expression of MMP-3 and MMP-10 induced by PCB 104. Exposure to PCB 104 significantly increased the migration and invasion of ESCs. The mRNA and protein levels of MMP-3 and MMP-10 in ESCs treated with PCB 104 were higher than that in the control, with a dose- and time-dependent manner in mRNA level, while the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-2, E-cadherin, Snail and Slug did not change significantly. Taken together, PCB 104 promotes migration and invasion of ESCs by inducing the expression of MMP-3 and MMP-10, which may involved the EGFR signalling pathway.

This study presents the postoperative pregnancy rate of women with recurrent endometriosis and evaluates the predictive value of the endometriosis fertility index (EFI) for the pregnancy.A total of 107 women who wished to conceive after surgery for recurrent endometriosis from January 2007 to December 2016 were included. The EFI score was calculated postoperatively. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to determine the most promising contributor to predicting pregnancy, and Kaplan-Meier (K-M) analysis was used to estimate the cumulative pregnancy rate (CPR).A total of 61 pregnancies were registered in 58 women and the remaining 49 patients failed to become pregnant. The EFI score was strongly associated with the postoperative fertility prognosis. The CPRs during the first 2 and 3 years postoperatively were 51.86% and 66.38%, respectively, and increased to 71.98% within the first 5 years postoperatively in patients with EFI scores ≥5. However, the CPR was 26.00% during the first 2 years after surgery in individuals with EFI scores