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Immunolocalization of stem/progenitor cell biomarkers Oct-4, C-kit and Musashi-1 in endometriotic lesions

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Abstract

Background

Human endometrium harbors stem/progenitor cells (SPCs) that may contribute to the establishment of endometriosis when seeded outside the uterus. Oct-4, C-kit and Musashi-1 are some of the many proteins used to characterize SPCs, but their association with endometriosis is uncertain.

Objective and Design

In this study, specimens of normal endometrium (n = 12), eutopic endometrium from women with endometriosis (n = 9), superficial peritoneal endometriosis (SUP, n = 12) and deep endometriosis (DE, n = 13) lesions were evaluated for localization and intensity of immunostaining for Oct-4, C-kit and Musashi-1.

Results

The three markers were abundantly expressed in normal endometrium, eutopic endometrium from endometriosis patients, SUP and DE specimens. Oct-4 and C-kit expression did not vary across groups as regards intensity or frequency. C-kit staining signal was seldom detected in vascular endothelium of normal or eutopic endometrium from endometriosis patients; however, it was positive in 67% of the SUP lesions and in 25% of the DE lesions (p = 0.042). Musashi-1 was expressed in some endometriotic glands as cell clusters, but its signal was similar between the four types of tissue (p = 0.971)

Conclusion

The wide distribution of Oct-4, C-kit and Musashi-1 in endometria of patients with and without endometriosis and in SUP and DE endometriotic lesions suggests that these markers are not suitable for the in situ characterization of endometrial SPCs and should not be taken as surrogates for the study of SPCs in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.

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Data availability

Data will be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

Research supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Flavia R. Oliveira, Maíra Casalechi, Márcia M. Carneiro, Ivete de Ávila, Cynthia Dela Cruz, Aroldo F. Camargos & Fernando M. Reis

  2. Department of Pathology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Helen L. Del Puerto

  3. Gynecologic Division, BP - A Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Maurício S. Abrão

  4. Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Maurício S. Abrão

  5. Division of Human Reproduction, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hospital das Clínicas, UFMG, Av. Alfredo Balena, 110, 9˚ andar, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30130-100, Brazil

    Fernando M. Reis

Authors
  1. Flavia R. Oliveira
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  2. Maíra Casalechi
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  3. Márcia M. Carneiro
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  4. Ivete de Ávila
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  5. Cynthia Dela Cruz
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  6. Helen L. Del Puerto
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  7. Aroldo F. Camargos
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  8. Maurício S. Abrão
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  9. Fernando M. Reis
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Contributions

Conceived the study: FMR, AFC; included samples: MMC, IdA, MSA; performed laboratory tests: FRO, MC, CDC, HLDP; documented and interpreted results: FRO, MC, CDC, HLDP; drafted manuscript: FRO, MC; edited manuscript: FMR, MSA, AFC.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fernando M. Reis.

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Conflict of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical approval

The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee at Federal University of Minas Gerais under protocol number ETIC/0628.0.203.000-09.

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Since the study was retrospective and used archived samples with numeric codes, it was exempted from obtaining participant’s consent.

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Oliveira, F.R., Casalechi, M., Carneiro, M.M. et al. Immunolocalization of stem/progenitor cell biomarkers Oct-4, C-kit and Musashi-1 in endometriotic lesions. Mol Biol Rep 48, 6863–6870 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-021-06685-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-021-06685-3

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