Progress in research on expression of integrin in endometriosis

Integrins are a group of receptors of cell adhesion molecules which has two functions: adhesion and signal transmission .Both eutopic and ectopic endometria can express many kinds of integrins, and the expression of integrin in ectopic endometrium is higher than that in eutopic endometrium. The high expression of integrin in ectopic endometrium make the ectopic endometium easy to contact specifically with peritoneum and then adhere to each other. The high expression of some integrins in pelvic environment may be the pathogenesis of endometriosis. In this article, we reviewed the progress in research on roles of integrin in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.