Hiraki K

AIM: We investigated the association between the length of anogenital distance (AGD) and intra-vaginal pH, an indicator of vaginal eubiosis or dysbiosis, in women with endometriosis. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was performed includ…

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a multifactorial disease that mainly affects women of reproductive age. The exact pathogenesis of this disease is still debatable. The role of bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) and Toll-like receptor…

ObjectiveA prominent stress reaction in the pelvis of women with endometriosis and the role of human heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in inflammation and the growth of endometriosis has been recently demonstrated. We report here expression of …

Adenomyosis is commonly believed to arise from the basalis endometrium. As an estromedin growth factor, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) exhibits multiple functions in endometriosis, a disease commonly believed to arise from the functionalis …

ObjectivesHuman heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) has been reported to enhance Toll-like receptor 4-mediated pelvic inflammation and growth of endometriotic cells. However, information on tissue expression of HSP70 before and after treatment wi…

STUDY QUESTION: Is there any risk of intra-uterine bacterial colonization and concurrent occurrence of endometritis in women with endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: An increase in intra-uterine microbial colonization and concurrent endometritis…

STUDY QUESTION: Is there any occurrence of hidden (occult) endometriotic lesions in normal peritoneum of women with and without visible endometriosis? SUMMARY ANSWER: We detected a slightly higher occurrence of occult microscopic endometrio…

STUDY QUESTION: Is the occurrence of pelvic pain in women with ovarian endometrioma associated with coexisting peritoneal lesions (PLs)? SUMMARY ANSWER: Pelvic pain in women with ovarian endometrioma is usually associated with coexisting PL…

We measured serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels before and after surgery in women undergoing unilateral and monolocular cystectomy for benign ovarian diseases. Comparing to control benign cysts, we found a significant decline in serum anti-…

BACKGROUND: We recently demonstrated the effect of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) on tissue inflammation, angiogenesis and apoptosis in endometriosis, adenomyosis and uterine myoma. Here, we investigated expression of GnRH …

ObjectivesWe investigated the effect of human seminal fluid on the growth of endometrial cells derived from women with and without endometriosis.Study designSeminal plasma (SP) was collected from 18 healthy fertile men. Serum, peritoneal fl…

To test the hypothesis that bacterial contamination of menstrual blood could be a local biologic event in the development of endometriosis, menstrual blood was cultured and bacterial endotoxin was measured in menstrual blood and peritoneal …

BACKGROUND: Information is limited regarding the multifunctional role of GnRH agonist (GnRHa) therapy in reproductive diseases. We investigated the pattern of changes in inflammatory reaction, micro-vessel density and apoptosis in the tissu…

Macrophages, dendritic cells, and Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are integral components of the innate immune system. This rapidly reactive system responds immediately to infectious or other non-self agents, thereby inducing an inflammatory res…

Endometriosis, a chronic disease characterized by endometrial tissue located outside the uterine cavity is associated with chronic pelvic pain and infertility. However, an in-depth understanding of the pathophysiology of endometriosis is st…

BACKGROUND: We investigated the role of human heat-shock protein 70 (Hsp70) in Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated growth of endometriosis. METHODS: TLR4 expression was examined in macrophages (M) isolated in primary culture from the perit…

BACKGROUND: The suitable parameter in PF as well as in serum that may predict the activity of endometriosis is not well described. Therefore, we tried to examine the peritoneal fluid (PF) and serum concentrations of hepatocyte growth factor…

BACKGROUND: We investigated the expression of the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) gene and protein by the stromal cells derived from women with or without endometriosis and its regulation by interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor al…