Qi Hang, Zhang Huiyu, Zhao Xiaoya, Qin Ya, Liang Guiling, He Xiaoqing, Zhang Jian
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
Shanghai Key Laboratory Embryo Original Diseases, Shanghai, China.
Reproduction. 2020 May;159(5):601-614. doi: 10.1530/REP-19-0587.
Tubal endometriosis (tubal EM) is a subtype of endometriosis (EM) associated with fallopian tube impairments and infertility. Since the molecular mechanism underlying tubal EM is not clear, we assume that an aberrant transcriptome of fallopian tube epithelium and microenvironment changes caused by cytokines in tubal fluid are possible causes. The aim of this study was to identify potential hub mRNAs/proteins of tubal EM through integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analyses and to elucidate significant pathways, cellular functions, and interaction networks during the initiation and progression of tubal EM. We obtained human fallopian tube epithelium and tubal fluid samples from patients with and without tubal EM. Tubal epithelia were analyzed using microarray, and tubal fluid was analyzed using quantitative label-free LC-MS/MS. We identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and determined common mRNAs/protein. We observed 35 commonly deregulated mRNAs/proteins, and IPA indicated that cellular movement, inflammatory response, and immune cell trafficking were significantly activated during the pathogenesis of tubal EM. We also identified acute phase response signaling pathway activation as a unique pathogenesis signature of tubal EM. Our results demonstrate that an integrated analysis of the transcriptome and proteome has the potential to reveal novel disease mechanisms at a molecular level.
输卵管子宫内膜异位症（tubal EM）是子宫内膜异位症（EM）的一种亚型，与输卵管损伤和不孕有关。由于输卵管EM的分子机制尚不清楚，我们推测输卵管上皮的异常转录组以及输卵管液中细胞因子引起的微环境变化可能是其原因。本研究的目的是通过整合转录组学和蛋白质组学分析来鉴定输卵管EM的潜在关键mRNA/蛋白质，并阐明输卵管EM发生和发展过程中的重要信号通路、细胞功能及相互作用网络。我们从患有和未患有输卵管EM的患者中获取了人输卵管上皮和输卵管液样本。对输卵管上皮进行微阵列分析，对输卵管液进行无标记定量液相色谱 - 串联质谱分析。我们鉴定了差异表达基因（DEGs）和差异表达蛋白质（DEPs），并确定了共同的mRNA/蛋白质。我们观察到35个共同失调的mRNA/蛋白质，IPA表明在输卵管EM发病过程中细胞运动、炎症反应和免疫细胞运输显著激活。我们还确定急性期反应信号通路激活是输卵管EM的独特发病特征。我们的结果表明，转录组和蛋白质组的综合分析有潜力在分子水平揭示新的疾病机制。
