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. 2013 Dec;20(12):1465-70.
doi: 10.1177/1933719113488452. Epub 2013 May 13.

The role of placental protein 14 in the pathogenesis of endometriosis

Ping Wang  1 , Libo Zhu, Xinmei Zhang
Affiliations

The role of placental protein 14 in the pathogenesis of endometriosis

Ping Wang et al. Reprod Sci. 2013 Dec.

Abstract

Placental protein 14 (PP-14) is the principal secretory phase product of endometrium and has been shown to inhibit cell immune function. But its role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis is controversy. The objective of this study is to determine the concentrations of PP-14 in peritoneal fluid (PF) and serum and PP-14 protein expression in endometriotic lesions in women with ovarian endometriosis (n = 75) when compared to women without endometriosis (n = 49) between day 7 and day 20 of their menstrual cycle. Concentrations of PP-14 in PF and serum as well as PP-14 protein expression in endometriotic lesions in women with and without endometriosis were evaluated by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemical staining, respectively. Serum PP-14 concentrations were significantly increased in women with endometriosis (7.5 ± 1.4 ng/mL) compared to those in women without endometriosis (5.8 ± 0.9 ng/mL; P < .05) and statistically decreased after surgery and further reduced by using gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy (P < .05). However, the concentrations of PP-14 in PF did not reach a significant difference between women with and without endometriosis (P > .05). In women with endometriosis, scores of PP-14 protein expression in the lesions (n = 50, 2.2 [0~5.8]) were significantly correlated with serum PP-14 concentrations (n = 50, 7.6 ± 1.3 ng/mL; P < .01). Our results suggest that PP-14 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.

Keywords: endometriosis; endometrium; peritoneal fluid; placental protein 14; serum.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Expression of PP-14 in endometriotic lesions and in endometriosis and control endometrium. A, Strong PP-14-immunoreactive staining in ovarian endometriotic lesions. B, Weak PP-14-immunoreactive staining in ovarian endometriotic lesions. C and D, Very weak PP-14-immunoreactive staining in endometriosis endometrium. E, Very weak PP-14-immunoreactive staining in control endometrium. F, Negative PP-14-immunoreactive staining in control endometrium. Scale bars represent 50 µm (original magnification ×400) in (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E); and 200 µm (original magnification ×100) in (F). PP-14 indicates placental protein 14.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Association of PP-14 protein expression levels in endometriotic lesions and serum PP-14 concentrations in women with ovarian endometriosis. PP-14 indicates placental protein 14.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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