The Expression Of The Tissue Inhibitor Of Metalloproteinase-2 In Endometriosis

Objective: To investigate the expression of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 in the eutopic and ectopic endometrium from women with and without endometriosis, there by to determine the role of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.Method: Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohisto-chemical streptavidin-peroxidase (S-P) were employed to detect the gene and protein of TIMP-2 in 50 ectopic endometrium and 26 eutopic endometrium from women with endometriosis and 20 normal control endometrium.Results: (1)The relative amounts of TIMP-2 gene in eutopic and ectopic endometrium of the patients with endometriosis were (0.4190±0.0520) and (0.4390±0.0450), respectively, and both were lower than that in the normal endometrium (0.5200±0.0630), P<0.05,P<0.05. (2)The staining of TIMP-2 protein in the stromal and glandular cells of ectopic and eutopic endometrium in endometriosis were both mildly positive, and were significantly lower than that of normal endometrium (P<0.01; P<0.05). (3) The expression of TIMP-2 gene and protein were irrespective of the clinical stage (P>0.05). (4) The expression of TIMP-2 gene and protein in the eutopic endometrium from women with and without endometriosis were all significantly relevant to the phase of the menstrual cycle (P<0.05), while those in ectopic endometrium was not irrespective of the clinical stage (P>0.05). Conclusions: The decreased expression of TIMP-2 in the ectopic endometriosis tissue may lead to the failure to inhibit the MMPs, which contributes to the pathogenesis of endometriosis.