Department of Physiology/Endocrinology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg Gothenburg 40530, Sweden.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shanghai Songjiang Center Hospital, Songjiang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine Shanghai 201600, China.
Am J Transl Res. 2014 Jan 15;6(2):104-13. eCollection 2014.
Endometriosis is a complex and challenging disease that involves aberrant adhesion, growth, and progression of endometrial tissues outside of the uterine cavity, and there is evidence to suggest that estrogen plays a key role in its development and progression. Numerous in vivo clinical studies have described the ectopic expression and regulation of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) in the different types of endometriosis compared to normal or eutopic endometrium. However, we have noticed that conflicting and contradictory results have been presented in terms of ER subtype (ERα and ERβ) and PR isoform (PRA and PRB) expression. Both ER and PR are transcription factors and ER/PR-mediated responses depend on the coordinated, opposing, and compensatory functions of ER subtypes and PR isoforms. Moreover, analysis of the uterine phenotypes of ERα/ERβ and PRA/PRB knockout mice indicates that different ER subtypes and PR isoforms mediate distinct responses to steroid hormones and play different roles in uterine function. In this review, we outline studies that have elucidated the molecules and signaling pathways that are linked to ER and/or PR signaling pathways in the development and progression of endometriosis.
子宫内膜异位症是一种复杂且具有挑战性的疾病，涉及子宫内膜组织在子宫腔外的异常黏附、生长和进展，有证据表明雌激素在其发生和发展中起关键作用。大量的体内临床研究描述了在不同类型的子宫内膜异位症中，雌激素受体（ER）和孕激素受体（PR）的异位表达和调节，与正常或在位子宫内膜相比。然而，我们注意到，关于 ER 亚型（ERα和 ERβ）和 PR 同工型（PRA 和 PRB）表达的研究结果存在矛盾和争议。ER 和 PR 都是转录因子，ER/PR 介导的反应取决于 ER 亚型和 PR 同工型的协调、拮抗和补偿功能。此外，对 ERα/ERβ 和 PRA/PRB 敲除小鼠的子宫表型分析表明，不同的 ER 亚型和 PR 同工型介导对甾体激素的不同反应，并在子宫功能中发挥不同的作用。在这篇综述中，我们概述了阐明与 ER 和/或 PR 信号通路相关的分子和信号通路的研究，这些通路在子宫内膜异位症的发生和发展中起作用。
