OPN and MMP-9 production and cell invasion increasing induced by 17-βestradiol in endometriosis

Objective To investigate the effect of 17-βestradiol( E2) on the expression of osteopontin( OPN) and matrix metalloproteinase-9( MMP-9) in endometrium glandular epithelium( GE) cell and the regulating effect on cell invasion in patients with endometriosis. Methods Cells were isolated from biopsies collected from nine endometriosis patients undergoing hysterectomy.These cells were cultured with 17-βestradiol( E2) or fulvestront. ELISA was used to analyze OPN and MMP-9,respectively. Cell scratch test and transwell were used to characterize the cell invasion. Results OPN,MMP-9 released from primary GE cells significantly increased in 17-βestradiol treatment group. At the concentration of 1nM and 10nM,OPN and MMP-9 significantly increased between the two groups( P 0. 05). The GE cells invasion increased significantly in 17-βestradiol treatment group. At the concentration of 1nM and 10nM,the migration rate in the cell scratch test and the number of the migrated GE cells in the transwell test increased significantly between two groups( P 0. 05). Conclusion OPN and MMP-9 may play an important role in endometriosis. GE cells retain an up-regulation of OPN and MMP-9 by 17-βestradiol. These data provide a rationale for the use of diagnosis of endometriosis progression and hormone therapy in the treatment of endometriosis.