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Lack of Evidence That Male Fetal Microchimerism is Present in Endometriosis

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Abstract

Introduction

Fetal microchimerism has been implicated in the etiology of autoimmune diseases. This study was done to test the hypothesis that male fetal microchimerism is present in eutopic and ectopic endometrium (EM) obtained from women with endometriosis but not in eutopic EM from women without endometriosis.

Methods

A total of 31 patients were selected, including women with endometriosis (paired eutopic and ectopic EM; n = 19) and women without endometriosis (eutopic EM; n = 12). Tricolor interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis was performed by cohybridization of CEP Y SpectrumAqua and CEP X SpectrumGreen (SG)/CEP Y SpectrumOrange probes.

Results

Ectopic EM from women with endometriosis had 75% XX chromosomes (double SG signals) and 25% X chromosomes (single SG signal). Y chromosomes were not observed in any of the eutopic/ectopic endometrial tissues from cases or controls.

Conclusions

We were unable to confirm our hypothesis that male fetal microchimerism is present in eutopic and/or ectopic EM obtained from women with endometriosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. KULeuven, Department of Development and Regeneration, Organ systems, Leuven, Belgium

    Amelie Fassbender PhD, Rieta Van Bree & Thomas D’Hooghe MD, PhD

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Leuven University Fertility Centre, University Hospital Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Amelie Fassbender PhD, Christel Meuleman MD, PhD, Carla Tomassetti MD, Karen Peeraer MD & Thomas D’Hooghe MD, PhD

  3. Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven and University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Maria Debiec-Rychter MD, PhD & Joris Robert Vermeesch PhD

  4. Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA

    Dan I. Lebovic MD

  5. Coordinator Leuven University Fertility Center, Leuven, Belgium

    Thomas D’Hooghe MD, PhD

  6. Leuven University, Belgium

    Thomas D’Hooghe MD, PhD

  7. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Leuven University Fertility Center, UZ Gasthuisberg, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Thomas D’Hooghe MD, PhD

  8. Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, WI, USA

    Dan I. Lebovic MD

Authors
  1. Amelie Fassbender PhD
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  2. Maria Debiec-Rychter MD, PhD
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  3. Rieta Van Bree
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  5. Christel Meuleman MD, PhD
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  6. Carla Tomassetti MD
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  8. Thomas D’Hooghe MD, PhD
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  9. Dan I. Lebovic MD
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Thomas D’Hooghe MD, PhD or Dan I. Lebovic MD.

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Fassbender, A., Debiec-Rychter, M., Van Bree, R. et al. Lack of Evidence That Male Fetal Microchimerism is Present in Endometriosis. Reprod. Sci. 22, 1115–1121 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719115574343

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