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Endometriosis is a common, estrogen-dependent benign tumor that affect 3-10% women of reproductive age, and is characterized by the ectopic growth of endometrial tissue, which is found primarily in the rectovaginal septum, ovaries, and pelvic peritoneum. To date, accumulating evidence suggests that various epigenetic aberrations, including the expression of aberrant microRNAs (miRNAs), play definite roles in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. This review summarizes the recent findings on the aberrantly repressed miRNAs, as well as their potential roles regarding the pathogenesis of endometriosis., (© 2021. The Japanese Society for Clinical Molecular Morphology.)

Background: Glycosylation is one of the most common post-translational modifications of eukaryotic proteins and is known to undergo dynamic changes in a wide range of biological processes. To date, however, the glycan expression profiles in endometriosis are largely unknown. The objective of the study was to identify the panel of glycans that were aberrantly expressed in endometriosis, a hormone-dependent disease., Methods: The glycan expression profiles in primary cultured human endometriotic cyst stromal cells (ECSCs) and normal endometrial stromal cells (NESCs) were determined by lectin microarray analysis. Distribution of Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA)-binding glycans in ovarian endometriotic cysts and eutopic proliferative phase endometrium were assessed by lectin histochemistry. The expressions of N-acetylgalactosaminyl transferases that synthesize WFA-binding glycans were evaluated in ECSCs and NESCs., Results: We found that the levels of WFA-binding glycans were decreased in ECSCs. Lectin histochemistry revealed that WFA-binding glycans were decreased only in the stromal components of the ovarian endometriotic cysts, but not in the epithelial components, compared to the eutopic proliferative phase endometrium. The expressions of N-acetylgalactosaminyl transferases that synthesize WFA-binding glycans were downregulated in ECSCs., Conclusions: Utilizing lectin microarray analysis and lectin histochemistry, we found that WFA-binding glycans were decreased in endometriosis. The synthetic enzymes of WFA-binding glycans were significantly downregulated in ECSCs. It is suggested that reduced expression of N-glycans with WFA-binding properties on ECSCs is a novel characteristics of endometriosis.