HOTAIR expression and its association with endometriosis development.

Microarray data (GSE120103) from the GEO databank was utilized for clinical association study. (A) HOTAIR levels in lesions from severe endometriosis patients (stage 4) (Endo; n = 18) were analyzed and compared with that in normal endometria (Normal; n = 18). (B) Expression levels of component genes in HOTAIR-associated complexes, PRC2 and LSD1/REST/CoREST, were also analyzed and compared with the levels in healthy controls. (C) Expression levels of possible downstream effectors of HOTAIR, including genes at the HOXD locus and other validated targets [17,28], were compared between patients (Endo) and controls (Normal) by using t-test.