Progranulin promotes proliferation, migration and invasion via the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway in a model of endometriosis

Rongyan Qin, Qin R, Fengque Zheng, Zheng F, Qin W, Weili Qin, Wei-Li Qin, Wang J, Jiawei Wang, Nana Ma, Ma N, Wencai Tian, Tian W, Li J, Jiaxu Li, Ming Liao, Liao M, Qin A, Aiping Qin
Reproductive biomedicine online · 2022 · vol. 46(3) , pp. 425–435 · doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2022.11.006 · PMID:36604215 · W4309293960
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 5 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This study investigates how progranulin enhances proliferation, migration, and invasion in an endometriosis model by activating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

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

Abstract

RESEARCH QUESTION: What are the levels of progranulin (PGRN) expression in primary endometrial stromal cells (ESC) and endometrial tissue in patients with endometriosis (EMS)? What is the role and mechanism of action of PGRN in EMS? DESIGN: Endometrial tissue was collected from 30 patients, 15 with EMS (EMS group) and 15 without EMS (non-EMS group). PGRN expression in endometrial tissue and ESC was analysed by immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, western blotting and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. PGRN overexpression and silencing ESC were established with lentivirus to detect the effect on proliferation, invasion and migration. The relationship between PGRN and the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signalling pathway was verified by western blotting. A rescue assay was performed with PI3K inhibitor treatment. RESULTS: The PGRN expression was significantly higher in EMS samples. PGRN up-regulation promoted proliferation (P = 0.007), migration (P = 0.002) and invasion (P < 0.001) of eutopic endometrial stromal cells (EUESC). The ratio of p-AKT/AKT was higher in the overexpression PGRN (ovPGRN) group than in the overexpression-NC (ovNC) group (P = 0.004). Silencing PGRN produced the opposite results, and LY2940002 addition reversed the effect of PGRN up-regulation on the proliferation, invasion and migration of EUESC. CONCLUSIONS: PGRN might promote the proliferation, invasion and migration of EUESC via the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway. These preliminary in-vitro findings may present a new perspective and inspire further study of the mechanism of EMS.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis

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 (28)

Cited by (6)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-07-26T06:08:39.051465+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-07-26T06:08:04.279833+00:00
unpaywall
last seen: 2026-07-26T06:48:27.953686+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK