Objective: To evaluate the expression of steroid hormone receptors, proteins related to apoptosis, and cell proliferation in endometria from women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Design: Case-control study.
Setting: Hospital research unit.
Patient(s): Eight women with PCOS and 12 fertile healthy women of similar age to those with PCOS.
Intervention(s): Endometrial samples were obtained from women with PCOS (PCOSE) and normal (NE) women during the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle.
Main outcome measure(s): Expression studies (immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) and DNA fragmentation [TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)].
Result(s): In stroma, protein expression of estrogen receptor alpha, Bcl-2, and Bax was higher in PCOSE than in NE; epithelial cells had a greater expression of androgen receptor in the nucleus and a lower expression in the cytoplasm of PCOSE. Cell proliferation was higher in the epithelia of NE, while the expression of caspase-3 and DNA fragmentation was similar in both groups. The bax mRNA expression was higher in PCOSE, and bcl-2 mRNA expression was similar between groups. A higher bcl-2/bax relative ratio in PCOSE was observed.
Conclusion(s): An alternating expression of proteins related to cell survival in endometria from PCOSE may potentially be associated with the disruption of their endometrial cell cycle.