| Human uterine leiomyomas (also known as fibroids, or myomas) are the most common benign tumors in women of reproductive age, affecting approximately 33% of all women and an estimated 77% of African American women. In the United States approximately 600,000 hysterectomies are performed annually at a cost of 1.7 billion dollars a year with fibroids accounting for 40% of procedures performed. Despite the high frequency of uterine leiomyomas and their major socioeconomic impact little research has been done in this area.; Many questions still remain to be answered concerning this disease. Therefore, we investigated a unique cell model to study uterine leiomyoma. First we characterized a novel immortalized cell line focusing on hormones and gene interactions. Cells were found to be estrogen responsive, and inhibited by ICI. High mobility group proteins are found in hormone responsive cancers such as breast, prostate, and benign uterine leiomyoma. We investigated an association between high mobility group proteins, estrogen, and estrogen receptors. From our data we concluded that high mobility group proteins are regulated by estrogen through the estrogen receptor pathway. Lastly using microarray technology we explored genes that may play a role in uterine leiomyoma growth. Our data suggest that growth of fibroids is not only activated through classic genomic pathways but also non-genomic pathways.; Our studies have tested a novel uterine leiomyoma cell line in hopes of establishing a universal model the field can use to study this important disease. Comparing our results with others in the field, we conclude that this cell line is an appropriate model for researching fibroids. Allowing researchers to explore molecular mechanisms involved in the etiology, growth and programmed cell death of these tumors. |
