Cesen-Cummings K, Walker C L, Davis B J
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.
Med Hypotheses. 2000 Dec;55(6):485-90. doi: 10.1054/mehy.2000.1098.
Leiomyomas, benign smooth muscle tumors of the uterus, are the most common gynecological neoplasm in women. Studies with human tissues and primary cultures have revealed little about the development of leiomyomas, although several genes have been shown to be differentially expressed in leiomyomas compared to matched normal myometrium. We propose that uterine smooth muscle tumor cells mimic a differentiated myometrial cell of pregnancy, and are associated with a hypersensitivity to sex steroid hormones, preventing the cells from responding to normal apoptotic or dedifferentiation signals which would return the cells to a nongravid phenotype. Support of this hypothesis is derived from experimental studies in female Eker rats which develop uterine leiomyoma with many similarities to the human disease. Members of the steroid receptor superfamily as well as the binding partners and co-regulators necessary for transactivation and gene transcription, may be involved in the altered pathway of cellular differentiation and regulation observed in uterine leiomyomas.
子宫肌瘤是子宫的良性平滑肌肿瘤，是女性最常见的妇科肿瘤。对人体组织和原代培养物的研究几乎没有揭示子宫肌瘤的发生发展情况，尽管与配对的正常子宫肌层相比，已有几种基因在子宫肌瘤中表现出差异表达。我们提出，子宫平滑肌肿瘤细胞模仿妊娠时分化的子宫肌层细胞，并与对性甾体激素的超敏反应相关，从而阻止细胞对正常的凋亡或去分化信号作出反应，而这些信号会使细胞恢复到非妊娠表型。这一假设的证据来源于对雌性Eker大鼠的实验研究，这些大鼠会发生与人类疾病有许多相似之处的子宫平滑肌瘤。甾体受体超家族的成员以及反式激活和基因转录所需的结合伴侣和共调节因子，可能参与了在子宫平滑肌瘤中观察到的细胞分化和调节途径的改变。
