Immunolocalization of the Apoptosis Regulating Proteins in Ectopic Endometrium from Women with Advanced Endometriosis

Objectives:To evaluate bcl 2,bax and c myc expression in ectopic endometrium from women with advanced endometriosis.Methods: Women with untreated endometriosis(n=20)were divided into StageⅢ(n=8)and Stage Ⅳ(n=12)according to the revised American Fertility Society scoring system.Ectopic endometrium samples were collected during operation.Bcl 2,bax and c myc expressions were assessed with use of immunohistochemical techniques.Results: Bcl 2,bax and c myc immunoreactivity was found predominately in the glandular epithelial cells.The positive rate of bcl 2,bax and c myc was 55 %,75 % and 55 % respectively.The expression of bcl 2 had positive correlation with that of c myc( P 0.01) but negative correlation with the expression of bax ( P 0.05).In women with Stage Ⅳ endometriosis bc1 2 expression was more frequently than that was seen in women with Stage Ⅲ disease( P 0.05).No statistically significant difference were found in the expression of bcl 2,bax and c myc throughout the menstrual cycle ( P 0.05).Conclusions: Apoptosis may be implicated in the pathogenesis of endometriosis .Bcl 2 and bax expressions may be important regulators of cell proliferation in endometriotic tissue while c myc may cooperate with bcl 2.