Expression of Nerve Injury-Induced Protein1 (Ninj1) in Endometriosis

Mariko Miyashita‐Ishiwata, Miyashita M, Mariko Miyashita, Kaori Koga, Takeuchi A, Arisa Takeuchi, Tomoko Makabe, Makabe T, Taguchi A, Ayumi Taguchi, Urata Y, Yoko Urata, Izumi G, Gentaro Izumi, Masashi Takamura, Takamura M, Miyuki Harada, Tetsuya Hirata, Yasushi Hirota, Osamu Wada‐Hiraike, Osamu Wada-Hiraike, Wada-Hiraike O, Osamu Yoshino, Yoshino O, Fujii T, Tomoyuki Fujii, Osuga Y, Yutaka Osuga
Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) · 2018 · vol. 26(8) , pp. 1105–1110 · doi:10.1177/1933719118806395 · PMID:30326781 · W2896694774
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 7 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This paper investigates the expression of Nerve Injury-Induced Protein 1 (Ninj1) in the context of endometriosis.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to clarify the expression of Ninj1 in endometriosis and adenomyosis lesions, and its inductive factor in human endometriotic stromal cells (ESCs).BackgroundNerve injury-induced protein 1 (Ninj1) is a molecule originally identified in dorsal root ganglion neurons and Schwann cells after nerve injury and promotes neurite outgrowth. The aim of this study was to clarify the expression of Ninj1 in endometriosis and adenomyosis lesions, and its inductive factor in human endometriotic stromal cells (ESCs).Materials and methodsTissues were obtained with consent from patients diagnosed with ovarian endometrioma (n = 15 in total), peritoneal endometriosis (n = 5), adenomyosis (n = 5), and other gynecological disorders (n = 5, control) during surgery. Immunohistochemistry was conducted in order to detect Ninj1 protein expression in the lesion of endometriosis, adenomyosis, and eutopic endometrium. Nerve fibers in the ovarian endometrioma were detected by positive staining of PGP-9.5. To evaluate the effects of IL-1β on Ninj1 gene expression in endometriosis, ESCs isolated from ovarian endometrioma (n = 5) were treated with IL-1β (5 ng/mL) for 3 or 6 hours. Messenger RNA (mRNA) expression for Ninj1 was examined using quantitative RT-PCR.ResultsThe Ninj1 protein was expressed by ovarian endometrioma, peritoneal endometriotic, and adenomyotic tissue. Nerve fibers were found in the areas of positive staining for Ninj1 in ovarian endometrioma. IL-1β, an indicator of inflammation in endometriosis, significantly increased Ninj1 mRNA expression by ESC.ConclusionOur study demonstrates that Ninj1 is expressed in endometriosis and adenomyosis and is induced by the inflammatory stimuli. Given the neurogenetic property of Ninj1, our results imply that Ninj1, induced by inflammation in endometriosis lesion, may contribute to the pathogenesis of pain symptoms characteristic of endometriosis.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal Endometriosis Endometrium Nerve Growth Factors Ovarian Diseases Peritoneal Diseases Stromal Cells Adenomyosis Adenomyosis Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal Endometriosis Endometrium Endometrium Female Gene Expression Regulation Gene Expression Regulation Humans Immunohistochemistry Inflammation Inflammation

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (60)

Cited by (8)

SciLite annotations

organisms 1
human

Source provenance

crossref
last seen: 2026-08-31T06:25:07.980110+00:00
europepmc
last seen: 2026-09-19T06:15:14.566301+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:19:31.300640+00:00
scilite
last seen: 2026-05-18T04:25:29.313245+00:00
unpaywall
last seen: 2026-09-19T06:31:22.526400+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK