GALECTIN-1 EXPRESSION IN HUMAN ENDOMETRIOTIC AND ENDOMETRIAL TISSUE

BASTON JUAN IGNACIO; RICCI ANALÍA; BILOTAS MARIELA; OLIVARES CARLA; GONZALEZ ALEJANDRO; SINGLA JOSÉ JAVIER; RABINOVICH GABRIEL; BARAÑAO ROSA INÉS; MERESMAN GABRIELA

San Juan

Congreso; Segunda Reunión Conjunta de Sociedades de Biología de la República Argentina; 2011

A continuous effort is being done to elucidate the pathogenesis of endometriosis (EDT). Galectin-1 (Gal-1) plays key roles in immune tolerance, tumor-immune escape and neovascularization. The potential role of Gal-1 in EDT has not yet been reported, so our goal was to evaluate Gal-1 protein expression and its histological location in human endometriotic and endometrial tissue. Biopsies from endometriotic lesions (n=12) and eutopic endometrium (n=6) from women with EDT, and proliferative (n=10) and secretory (n=9) control endometrium, were analyzed by Western blot (WB) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). In addition, immunocytochemistry was performed on primary cultures of endometrial stromal and epithelial cells. IHC assays revealed a strong cytoplasmic expression of Gal-1 specifically confined to stromal cells from endometriotic lesions and eutopic endometrium from patients and controls. The same Gal-1 expression pattern was found in human primary endometrial cell cultures. However, we found no significant differences in the levels of Gal-1 protein among all groups. This is the first study reporting the stromal expression of Gal-1 in ectopic lesions and eutopic endometrium from women with EDT, supporting a potential role for Gal-1 promoting the establishment and development of EDT.