Endometriosis does not Alter Aromatase Gene Expression (CYP19A1) in Mural Lutein-granulosa Cells of Women Undergoing Assisted Reproduction Techniques – a Pilot Study

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this study was to quantify aromatase gene expression in mural lutein-granulosa cells of women with endometriosis undergoing assisted reproduction techniques (ART, IVF or ICSI). Methods: a case-control study was performed on 11 women with endometriosis (all stages, ASRM criteria) and 11 women with male or tubal causes of infertility undergoing ART. There was no difference between the groups regarding age, amount of gonadotrophins used, days of induction, follicles, and eggs collected. Mural lutein-granulosa cells were harvested from pre-ovulatory follicles during oocyte retrieval and correctly isolated. After cells lyses and storage into Trizol LS Reagent®, RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis were performed. Quantification of relative gene expression for CYP19A1 (aromatase) was performed by real time PCR, using SYBR Green reagents. All experiments were performed in duplicates. Results there was no difference between the groups in the quantitative gene expression of CYP19A1 (aromatase) gene on mural lutein-granulosa cells (P>.05, Mann Whitney). Conclusions These results suggest that this enzyme, aromatase, may have a complex and refined control of its gene expression on this population of granulosa cells, and in spite of previous evidence showing its reduced activity on these cells in endometriosis, gene expression per se may not be affected by the disease.