Molecular Human Reproduction, Vol. 7, No. 5, 459-462,
May 2001
© 2001 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Uterine physiology |
Increased concentrations of cathepsin D in peritoneal fluid from women with endometriosis
1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagoya City University Medical School, Nagoya, Japan, 2 Perinatal Center, Institution of Physiology and Pharmacology, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden and 3 Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
Abstract
To assess the release of the proteolytic enzyme cathepsin D in endometriosis, concentrations in peritoneal fluid and serum were measured by ELISA in 54 women with (n = 33) and without (n = 21) endometriosis. Surgery was scheduled in either the proliferative or secretory phase of the menstrual cycle. The concentrations of cathepsin D in the peritoneal fluid were markedly elevated in the endometriosis patients (median 58 ng/ml, interquartile range 0–166 ng/ml) as compared to the controls (5 ng/ml, 0–86 ng/ml), especially in women with late stage disease (n = 19, stages III/IV) and in those not undergoing gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist therapy (n = 15). No significant difference was determined in cathepsin D concentrations of the serum from women with and without endometriosis. We conclude that cathepsin D is an important factor that may contribute to the pathogenesis of endometriosis, possibly by promoting digestion of extracellular matrix proteins. These results have implications for the therapeutic efficacy of GnRH agonists.
cathepsin D/endometriosis/gonadotrophin-releasing hormone/peritoneal fluid
Notes
4 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza S217, Houston, TX 77030, USA. E-mail: suzumori{at}bcm.tmc.edu
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