Exposure to hexachlorobenzene induces endocrine alterations associated with endometriosis progression

OLIVARES, CARLA NOEMÍ; MIRET N; MERESMAN, GABRIELA FABIANA; CHIAPPINI, FLORENCIA; BASTÓN, JUAN IGNACIO; FARINA M; RANDI, ANDREA; CEBALLOS L; PONTILLO C; SINGLA JOSÉ JAVIER

Congreso; LXIV Reunión Conjunta de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica; 2019

Endometriosis is a chronic illness hormone-dependent which is defined by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. The endocrine disrupting chemicals may be involved in the development and progression of disease. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is a pesticide that acts as an endocrine disruptor modulating the hormonal signaling. Aberrant expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER, PR) has been associated with progression of endometriosis, which is referred to as estrogen-dependent and progesterone-resistant. Aromatase is the key enzyme in the estrogen biosynthesis and it is essential for establishment and growth of endometriosis lesions. Previous results showed that HCB induces cell migration and invasion of endometrial cells, increases ERα and reduces PR levels in lesion and eutopic endometrium in rat model. Our aim was to evaluate the dependence of ER on migration (scratch motility assay) and invasion (transwell assay) in endometrial stromal cells (T-HESCs), and to investigate the hormone receptor profile (WB) in T-HESCs and primary cultures of endometrial stromal cells from eutopic endometrium of control (CESC) women. Cells were exposed to HCB (0.005, 0.05, 0.5 and 5 μM) for 24 h. Results showed that the pesticide enhanced cell migration (HCB 5 μM p