RESEARCH ARTICLE Potential Role of Semaphorin 3A and Its Receptors in Regulating Aberrant Sympathetic Innervation in Peritoneal and

Previous studies have demonstrated the involvement of nerve repellent factors in regulation of the imbalanced innervation of endometriosis. This prospective study aims to explore the role of Sema 3A in regulating aberrant sympathetic innervation in peritoneal and deep infil-trating endometriosis. Ectopic endometriotic lesion were collected from patients with perito-neal endometriosis (n = 24) and deep infiltrating endometriosis of uterosacral ligament (n = 20) undergoing surgery for endometriosis. Eutopic endometrial samples were collected from patients with endometriosis (n = 22) or without endometriosis (n = 26). Healthy perito-neum (n = 13) from the lateral pelvic wall and healthy uterosacral ligament (n = 13) were obtained from patients who had no surgical and histological proof of endometriosis during hysterectomy for uterine fibroids. Firstly, we studied the immunostaining of Sema 3A, Plexin A1 and NRP-1 in all the tissues described above. Then we studied the nerve fiber density (NFD) of endometriosis-associated (sympathetic) nerve and para-endometriotic (sympa-thetic) nerve by double immunofluorescence staining. Finally we analyzed the relationship between expression of Sema 3A in stromal cells of endometriotic lesion and the aberrant