Expression of microtubule associated protein 2 and synaptophysin in endometrium: high levels in deep infiltrating endometriosis lesions

Gori M, Martina Gori, Alice Luddi, Giuseppe Belmonte, Belmonte G, Paola Piomboni, Piomboni P, Claudia Tosti, Funghi L, Lucia Funghi, Zupi E, Errico Zupi, Lucia Lazzeri, Felice Petraglia
Fertility and sterility · 2015 · vol. 105(2) , pp. 435–443 · doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.10.024 · PMID:26604067 · W2176944166
article OA: bronze CC0 ⤵ 16 in-corpus citations
🔓 Open OA copy View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

This study investigated the expression of microtubule associated protein 2 and synaptophysin in endometrial tissues and found elevated levels in deep infiltrating endometriosis lesions.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess whether healthy endometrium, eutopic endometrium, and endometriotic lesions express nerve growth factor (NGF), microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2), and synaptophysin (SYP).DesignMolecular study in tissue extracts.SettingUniversity hospital.Patient(s)A group of women (n = 70), divided as [1] healthy controls (n = 30) and [2] with endometriosis (n = 40), was included.Intervention(s)From the healthy control group an endometrial specimen was collected by hysteroscopy (proliferative phase, n = 16; secretive phase, n = 14). Endometriotic and endometrial specimens were collected from women undergoing laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis, endometrioma (OMA) (n = 20), or deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) (n = 20).Main outcome measure(s)To assess expression of NGF, MAP-2, and SYP messenger RNA (mRNA) levels in endometrium and in endometriosis by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and protein localization by immunofluorescence. Cultures of human endometrial stromal cells were used to evaluate the effect of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α on NGF and SYP.Result(s)Endometrial tissue from control expressed mRNA for NGF, MAP-2, and SYP, without any difference between proliferative and secretive phase. The DIE and OMA lesions showed the highest NGF mRNA expression, significantly higher than in eutopic endometrium and control. In DIE lesions SYP mRNA expression was higher than in OMA or in eutopic endometrium or controls. Immunofluorescence analysis of NGF, MAP-2, and SYP showed a slightly more intense positive signal in endometriotic lesions. Exposure to TNF-α increased NGF and SYP mRNA expression in endometrial culture cells.Conclusion(s)The present study revealed the presence of two selected neuronal markers, MAP-2 and SYP mRNAs and protein expression, in eutopic endometrium and in endometriotic lesions.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosisdie_deep_infiltrating

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometrium Microtubule-Associated Proteins Synaptophysin Biomarkers Biomarkers Case-Control Studies Cells, Cultured Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometrium Endometrium Endometrium Female Fluorescent Antibody Technique Humans Microtubule-Associated Proteins Microtubule-Associated Proteins Nerve Growth Factor

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.

References (54)

Cited by (16)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-07-25T06:15:30.875455+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:17:33.600579+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK