{"paper_id":"28b9f08d-c473-438a-983e-0327b807f67c","body_text":"Abstract\nBackground\nHuman endometrium harbors stem/progenitor cells (SPCs) that may contribute to the establishment of endometriosis when seeded outside the uterus. Oct-4, C-kit and Musashi-1 are some of the many proteins used to characterize SPCs, but their association with endometriosis is uncertain.\nObjective and Design\nIn this study, specimens of normal endometrium (n = 12), eutopic endometrium from women with endometriosis (n = 9), superficial peritoneal endometriosis (SUP, n = 12) and deep endometriosis (DE, n = 13) lesions were evaluated for localization and intensity of immunostaining for Oct-4, C-kit and Musashi-1.\nResults\nThe three markers were abundantly expressed in normal endometrium, eutopic endometrium from endometriosis patients, SUP and DE specimens. Oct-4 and C-kit expression did not vary across groups as regards intensity or frequency. C-kit staining signal was seldom detected in vascular endothelium of normal or eutopic endometrium from endometriosis patients; however, it was positive in 67% of the SUP lesions and in 25% of the DE lesions (p = 0.042). Musashi-1 was expressed in some endometriotic glands as cell clusters, but its signal was similar between the four types of tissue (p = 0.971)\nConclusion\nThe wide distribution of Oct-4, C-kit and Musashi-1 in endometria of patients with and without endometriosis and in SUP and DE endometriotic lesions suggests that these markers are not suitable for the in situ characterization of endometrial SPCs and should not be taken as surrogates for the study of SPCs in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.\nSimilar content being viewed by others\nData availability\nData will be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.\nReferences\nBulun SE et al (2019) Endometriosis. 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Biol Reprod 70:1738–1750. https://doi.org/10.1095/biolreprod.103.024109\nFunding\nResearch supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq).\nAuthor information\nAuthors and Affiliations\nContributions\nConceived the study: FMR, AFC; included samples: MMC, IdA, MSA; performed laboratory tests: FRO, MC, CDC, HLDP; documented and interpreted results: FRO, MC, CDC, HLDP; drafted manuscript: FRO, MC; edited manuscript: FMR, MSA, AFC.\nCorresponding author\nEthics declarations\nConflict of interest\nNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.\nEthical approval\nThe study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee at Federal University of Minas Gerais under protocol number ETIC/0628.0.203.000-09.\nConsent to participate\nSince the study was retrospective and used archived samples with numeric codes, it was exempted from obtaining participant’s consent.\nConsent to publication\nDoes not apply.\nAdditional information\nPublisher's Note\nSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.\nRights and permissions\nAbout this article\nCite this article\nOliveira, F.R., Casalechi, M., Carneiro, M.M. et al. Immunolocalization of stem/progenitor cell biomarkers Oct-4, C-kit and Musashi-1 in endometriotic lesions. Mol Biol Rep 48, 6863–6870 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-021-06685-3\nReceived:\nAccepted:\nPublished:\nVersion of record:\nIssue date:\nDOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-021-06685-3","source_license":"CC0","license_restricted":false}