UTERINE ANORMALITIES AND PTEN EXPRESSION IN PCOS RAT MODEL

BRACHO, GISELA S; ACOSTA, MARÍA V; ALTAMIRANO, GABRIELA A; LUQUE, ENRIQUE H; KASS, LAURA; BOSQUIAZZO, VERÓNICA LIS

Modalidad Virtual

Congreso; LXVI REUNIÓN ANUAL DE LA SOCIEDAD ARGENTINA DE INVESTIGACIÓN CLÍNICA (SAIC); 2021

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica (SAIC)

Women with Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have an increasedrisk for developing endometrial hyperplasia and cancer. Previously,we demonstrated in the PCOS rat uterus an increase in epithelialheight, gland density and thickness of subepithelial stroma andmyometrium. Phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate 3-phosphatase(PTEN) is a tumor suppressor gene. Mutation or changes inPTEN expression is a frequent event in endometrial cancers. Theaims of this study were to investigate the presence of uterine abnormalitiesand to evaluate whether uterine PTEN expression wasaltered in PCOS rat model. Female rats were injected subcutaneouslywith sesame oil (Control group) or dehydroepiandrosterone(6mg/100g body weight, PCOS group) from 21 to 40 days of age. Atday 41 the uterine horns were collected. Uterine abnormalities werestudied on histological sections counterstained with hematoxylin-eosinor picrosirius-hematoxylin. PTEN expression was evaluated byimmunohistochemistry. Uterine morphology showed stratification ofluminal epithelium (more than 3 layers of cells), intraepithelial lumens,intraepithelial glands and polyps in treated rats. Also, differentmorphological types of uterine glands were identified: cystic, dilatedand/or tortuous, with squamous metaplasia, with cellular atypia andconglomerates of glands. The incidence of epithelial and glandularabnormalities increased in PCOS rats (Control: 28.6 % vs PCOS:100%, Control: 0 % vs PCOS: 90.9%, respectively). In this groupof rats, PTEN expression was not modified in the glandular epithelium,whereas decreased in the luminal epithelium, subepithelialstroma and myometrium (p