Differential expression of EWI-2 in endometriosis, its functional role and underlying molecular mechanisms

Identification of differentially expressed genes and signaling pathways involved in endometriosis by integrated bioinformatics analysis

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease characterized by the presence and growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus, including the pelvis and abdominal cavity. This condition causes various clinical symptoms, such as non-menstrual pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea and infertility, seriously affecting the health and quality of life of women. To date, the specific mechanism and the key molecules of endometriosis remain uncertain. The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the development and persistence of the disease. A number of mRNA expression profile datasets (namely GSE11691, GSE23339, GSE25628 and GSE78851) were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. These gene expression profiles were normalized, and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by integrated bioinformatics analysis. A total of 103 DEGs were screened upon excluding the genes that exhibited inconsistency of expression (P<0.05). Furthermore, the Gene Ontology analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis, and construction of protein-protein interaction networks of DEGs were performed using online software. The results revealed that the DEGs were closely associated with cell migration, adherens junction and hypoxia-inducible factor signaling. In addition, immunohistochemical assay results were found to be consistent with the bioinformatics results. The present study may help us understand underlying molecular mechanisms and the development of endometriosis, which has a great clinical significance for early diagnosis of the disease.

Noninvasive diagnosis of endometriosis: Review of current peripheral blood and endometrial biomarkers

A noninvasive biomarker-based test could help shorten the diagnostic delay for endometriosis. The most investigated biomarker sources are peripheral blood and endometrium. Discovery of endometriosis biomarkers is often hypothesis-driven, i.e. when one or a few biomarkers are investigated based on their role in the disease pathogenesis. Alternatively, a hypothesis-generating approach has been followed using the "omics" technologies. A variety of biomarkers for endometriosis have been investigated, but no biomarker has been validated for clinical use. Many challenges lie ahead in the endometriosis biomarker field. In the future, harmonized collection and reporting methods should allow large-scale international collaboration for highly powered studies.