Recent insights on the endometriosis-associated microRNAs

Endometriosis (EMS) is an estrogen-dependent chronic inflammatory gynecologic disorder, and the clinical intervention measures of EMS are still needed to be improved at present. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA that modulate gene expression and participate in the pathogenesis of various human diseases. Stability of miRNAs in peripheral blood makes them as attractive candidate biomarkers. In order to explore roles of miRNAs in the EMS pathogenesis, eutopic endometrial tissues and ectopic endometrial tissues, and their isolated stormal and epithelial cell, as well as peripheral blood samples have been used to indentify EMS-associated miRNAs by high-throughput techniques, and a number of dysregulated miRNAs have been reported. This review aims to provide recent insights on these reported EMS-associated miRNAs with a special emphasis to their potential application as biomarkers for EMS. Key words: Endometriosis; MicroRNAs; Eutopic endometrial tissues; Ectopic endometrial tissues; Biomarkers