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Endometrial Gene Expression in Early Pregnancy: Lessons From Human Ectopic Pregnancy

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Abstract

Human endometrium undergoes modifications in preparation for embryonic implantation. This study investigated in vivo the endocrine effects of pregnancy on the endometrium, using the model of ectopic pregnancy. Endometrial biopsies from 9 subjects with ectopic pregnancy (Preg) were compared with 8 and 6 samples of mid and late secretory endometrium, respectively. After hybridizing with Affymetrix HGU133 Plus 2 chips, data were analyzed using GeneSpring GX and Ingenuity Pathways Analysis. From 54 675 genes, 3021 genes were significantly differentiated when mid-secretory endometrium was compared with the Preg (Volcano plot; P < .05, ≥2-fold change). The complement and coagulation cascade, phospholid degradation, glycosphingolipid biosynthesis (globoseries), retinol metabolism, antigen presentation pathway, glycosphingolipid biosynthesis, and O-glycan biosynthesis were main significant canonical pathways found in Preg samples. Validation was done with reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. In conclusion, the ectopic embryo has a significant impact, by an endocrine mechanism, on endometrium, when compared with the window of implantation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departmento de Obstetrícia e Ginecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Ricardo F. Savaris MD, PhD, MSc

  2. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California at San Francisco, 505 Parnassus, M1496, San Francisco, California, 94143-0132, USA

    Amy E. Hamilton BS & Linda C. Giudice MD, PhD, MSc

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Medical Group, Greenville Hospital System, Greenville, South Carolina, USA

    Bruce A. Lessey MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Ricardo F. Savaris MD, PhD, MSc
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  2. Amy E. Hamilton BS
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  3. Bruce A. Lessey MD, PhD
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  4. Linda C. Giudice MD, PhD, MSc
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Linda C. Giudice MD, PhD, MSc.

Additional information

Supported by the NICHD/NIH through cooperative agreement 1U54HD055764-01 (LCG) and U54-HD35041 (BAL) as part of the Specialized Cooperative Centers Program in Reproduction and Infertility Research (LCG) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) BEX3656-06-3 (RFS). Samples were collected at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. Data analysis and RT-PCR were performed at University of California, San Francisco. Immunohistochemistry was performed at Greenville Hospital System.

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Savaris, R.F., Hamilton, A.E., Lessey, B.A. et al. Endometrial Gene Expression in Early Pregnancy: Lessons From Human Ectopic Pregnancy. Reprod. Sci. 15, 797–816 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719108317585

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