Cathepsin B in Eutopic and Ectopic Endometrial Tissues of Patients with Endometriosis

Chung‐Hoon Kim, Chung-Hoon Kim, You-Jeong Lee, You‐Jeong Lee, Jun-Bum Kim, Young Jin Lee, Young-Jin Lee, Jun-Woo Ahn, Jun‐Woo Ahn, Sung Hoon Kim, Sung-Hoon Kim, Hee‐Dong Chae, Hee-Dong Chae, Byung-Moon Kang, Byung‐Moon Kang
Development & reproduction · 2013 · vol. 17(2) , pp. 133–140 · doi:10.12717/dr.2013.17.2.133 · PMID:25949129 · PMC4282272 · W2032004909
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-09 ⓘ

Cathepsin B mRNA and protein expression were significantly higher in eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues of endometriosis patients compared to controls, suggesting its association with endometriosis development.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-09 ⓘ

This study measured cathepsin B mRNA and protein expression in eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues from 40 women with histologically confirmed advanced stage (III–IV) endometriosis, comparing findings to endometrial tissue from controls, with tissue dating across proliferative and mid-secretory phases and analysis by real-time PCR and Western blotting. Cathepsin B mRNA was detected in both endometriosis and control tissues, with expression trends across cycle phase that were not statistically significant, but levels were significantly higher in eutopic endometrium of endometriosis patients than controls (including a significant increase in eutopic mid-secretory phase) and also significantly higher in ectopic endometrium (in both proliferative and mid-secretory comparisons versus eutopic controls). Cathepsin B mRNA and protein levels were higher in endometriosis tissues, while mRNA levels were comparable between eutopic and ectopic tissues within endometriosis patients. The paper’s limitation is that the sample size and phase comparisons emphasize only advanced-stage disease and a specific menstrual timing window. This paper is centrally about endometriosis—specifically cathepsin B expression in eutopic versus ectopic endometrial tissues.

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Abstract

This study was performed to investigate the expression of cathepsin B mRNA and protein in eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues of patients with endometriosis and in normal endometrial tissues and to clarify the association between the cathepsin B expression and endometriosis. A total of 40 women with histologically confirmed endometriosis were recruited for study group. For controls, 20 women undergoing operative treatment for uterine myoma, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or benign gynecologic conditions other than endometriosis were recruited. Eutopic endometrial tissues of both groups and ectopic endometrial tissue of study group were collected during the operations. We employed real time reverse transcriptase - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to quantify mRNA levels of cathepsin B in these tissues. Then, we performed western blot analysis to measure the protein levels of cathepsin B. The expressions of cathepsin B mRNA and protein were significantly higher in both eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues of women with endometriosis than in endometrial tissues of controls. These data suggest that the higher expression of cathepsin B in the endometrial tissues might be associated with the development of endometriosis. In addition, eutopic endometrium itself with higher expression cathepsin B may play a pivotal role in the histogenesis of endometriosis.

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endometriosis

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