RNAi-mediated blocking of ezrin reduces migration of ectopic endometrial cells in endometriosis

Qingyan Jiang, Qiao-Ying Jiang, Jiang QY, Xia JM, Jian-Mei Xia, Jianmei Xia, Han Ding, Ding HG, Hai-Gang Ding, Xiangwei Fei, Fei XW, Xiang-Wei Fei, Jun Lin, Jing Lin, Lin J, R. J. Wu, Rui-Jin Wu, Wu RJ
Molecular human reproduction · 2012 · vol. 18(9) , pp. 435–441 · doi:10.1093/molehr/gas019 · PMID:22544491 · W2124038911
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 17 in-corpus citations
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Blocking ezrin expression with RNAi reduced ectopic endometrial cell migration and decreased RhoA, RhoC, and ROCK1 expression in endometriosis.

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Abstract

Ezrin is a member of the ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) family of membrane-cytoskeletal linkage proteins. It is important for maintenance of cell shape, adhesion, migration and division. The overexpression of ezrin in some tumours is associated with increased cell migration that is mediated by the Rho/ROCK family of small GTPases. To investigate the role of ezrin in the migration of ectopic endometrial cells in endometriosis, we conducted real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis of the eutopic and ectopic endometrium from women with endometriosis compared with those without the disease. RNAi, wound healing assays and western blot analysis of endometriotic cells were also included in this research. We found significantly higher levels of mRNA expression of ezrin (0.42 versus 0.27, P < 0.05), RhoA (0.99 versus 0.74, P < 0.05), RhoC (0.79 versus 0.43, P < 0.005) and ROCK1 (0.68 versus 0.38, P < 0.005) in the ectopic endometrial cells compared with the eutopic endometrial cells in endometriosis. Blocking ezrin with small-interfering RNA reduced the migration of ectopic endometrial cells with decreased expression of RhoA (42.68%), RhoC (58.42%) and ROCK1 (59.88%). Our results indicate that the over-expression of ezrin in endometriosis may play a significant role in the migration of endometrial cells of endometriosis, and the RhoC/Rock pathway may provide a promising treatment target.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Cytoskeletal Proteins Cytoskeletal Proteins Endometriosis Endometriosis rhoA GTP-Binding Protein rho-Associated Kinases rho GTP-Binding Proteins Adult Cell Movement Cell Movement Cells, Cultured Cytoskeletal Proteins Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometrium Endometrium Endometrium Endometrium Ezrin Female

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