Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Oct 1;10(10):2460.
doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10102460.

Plasma and Peritoneal Fluid ZEB Levels in Patients with Endometriosis and Infertility

Paweł Bartnik  1   2 , Joanna Kacperczyk-Bartnik  1   2 , Ksawery Goławski  3 , Janusz Sierdziński  4 , Grzegorz Mańka  5 , Mariusz Kiecka  5 , Michał Lipa  2   3 , Damian Warzecha  3 , Robert Spaczyński  6 , Piotr Piekarski  6 , Beata Banaszewska  7 , Artur J Jakimiuk  8   9 , Tadeusz Issat  8   10 , Wojciech Rokita  11   12 , Jakub Młodawski  11   12 , Maria Szubert  2   13   14 , Piotr Sieroszewski  13   15 , Grzegorz Raba  16   17 , Kamil Szczupak  16   17 , Tomasz Kluz  18 , Marek Kluza  18 , Krzysztof Czajkowski  1 , Mirosław Wielgoś  3 , Ewa Koc-Żórawska  19 , Marcin Żórawski  20 , Piotr Laudański  3   21
Affiliations

Plasma and Peritoneal Fluid ZEB Levels in Patients with Endometriosis and Infertility

Paweł Bartnik et al. Biomedicines. .

Abstract

Zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) and zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 2 (ZEB2) are transcription factors that regulate epithelial−mesenchymal transformation (EMT). The aim of this study was to compare levels of ZEB1 and ZEB2 in the peritoneal fluid and plasma between patients with and without endometriosis in order to assess their utility in the diagnostic process. Plasma and peritoneal fluid samples were collected from 50 patients with and 48 without endometriosis during planned surgical procedures in eight clinical centers. Quantitative ZEB1 and ZEB2 levels analyses were performed using a double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). No significant differences were observed in ZEB1 levels in any of the subanalyses nor any differences regarding ZEB2 levels between patients with and without endometriosis. Plasma ZEB2 levels were significantly higher among patients with infertility compared to fertile women (16.07 ± 12.70 ng/L vs. 12.07 ± 11.92 ng/L; p < 0.04). Both ZEB1 and ZEB2 do not seem to have a significant value in the initial diagnosis of endometriosis as a single marker. The differences in ZEB2 plasma levels between patients with and without infertility indicate the possibility of EMT dysregulation in the pathogenesis of adverse fertility outcomes.

Keywords: ELISA; ZEB1; ZEB2; endometriosis; epithelial–mesenchymal transition; infertility; peritoneal fluid; plasma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

References

    1. Yilmaz B.D., Bulun S.E. Endometriosis and nuclear receptors. Hum. Reprod. Update. 2019;25:473–485. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmz005. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Giudice L.C., Kao L.C. Endometriosis. Lancet. 2004;364:1789–1799. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(04)17403-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sampson J. Peritoneal endometriosis due to the menstrual dissemination of endometrial tissue into the peritoneal cavity. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 1927;14:422–469. doi: 10.1016/S0002-9378(15)30003-X. - DOI
    1. Zondervan K.T., Becker C.M., Missmer S.A. Endometriosis. N. Engl. J. Med. 2020;382:1244–1256. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1810764. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Załęcka J., Pankiewicz K., Issat T., Laudański P. Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Association between Endometriosis and Ectopic Pregnancy. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022;23:3490. doi: 10.3390/ijms23073490. - DOI - PMC - PubMed