Ten-Eleven Translocation Genes are Downregulated in Endometriosis

article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 27 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher

Abstract

Our previous whole genome expression analysis of endometriomas suggested dysregulation of the ten-eleven translocation genes (TET1, TET2, and TET3), involved in converting 5- methylcytosine to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC). The objective of this study was to validate the expression of TET genes in ectopic and eutopic endometrium and in primary cultures of human endometrial stromal fibroblasts (HESF) during in vitro decidualization and to quantify 5-hmC levels in patients with endometriosis. Blood, eutopic endometrium, and endometriotic tissues were collected at time of gynecologic surgery. HESF cultures were created from eutopic endometrium of women without (HESF-CONTROL) and with endometriosis (HESF-ENDO) and underwent in vitro decidualization. Genomic DNA from blood and tissues underwent quantification of the absolute amount of 5-hmC using ELISA. The expression of TET1, TET2, and TET3 was decreased in endometriosis compared to non-endometriosis control eutopic endometrium. Surprisingly, the global amount of 5-hmC was higher in ectopic endometrium than control eutopic endometrium, while genomic DNA from blood of women with endometriosis contained statistically significantly less 5-hmC than women without endometriosis. Expression of TET1, TET2, and TET3 was decreased in non-decidualized HESFENDO. Upon in vitro decidualization, control HESF showed decreased expression of TET3, while decidualized HESF-ENDO showed no statistically significant change in expression of TET1, TET2, or TET3. These results indicate that the TET genes are downregulated in ectopic endometrium and in HESF-ENDO, and suggest for the first time that TET genes play a role in endometriosis. High global amounts of 5-hmC in endometriotic tissues suggest unique epigenetic regulation in these tissues.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Dioxygenases DNA-Binding Proteins Endometriosis Endometrium Epigenesis, Genetic Mixed Function Oxygenases Proto-Oncogene Proteins 5-Methylcytosine 5-Methylcytosine Adult Aged Case-Control Studies Cytosine Cytosine Cytosine Dioxygenases Dioxygenases DNA-Binding Proteins DNA-Binding Proteins 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.

Cited by (27)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-06-11T06:19:48.454388+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:21:13.485820+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK