UC San Diego

Objective

To evaluate for the presence of oxidatively modified lipid-protein complexes in endometriosis and endometrium of women with endometriosis and controls.

Design

Controlled clinical study.

Setting

Academic tertiary care center.

Patient(s)

Women undergoing surgery for pelvic pain, infertility, endometriosis, or tubal ligation controls.

Intervention(s)

Biopsy of endometrium and endometriosis.

Main outcome measure(s)

Staining with antibodies to oxidatively modified lipid proteins (HNE-7, MDA2), macrophages (HAM-56), and muscle cell actin (HHF-35).

Result(s)

Both endometrium and endometriosis tissues contain stromal cells that immunostain with HAM-56 and show immunostaining (both intracellular and extracellular) with HNE-7 and MDA2. Some endometriotic implants show patchy staining with HHF-35. Endometrium was devoid of staining with HHF-35. Control staining with nonimmune sera in both tissues was also devoid of staining.

Conclusion(s)

These data strongly implicate the occurrence of oxidative stress in endometriosis tissue. These data also suggest that oxidative modification is a normal physiological process in endometrium.