Background
Endometriosis is a disease with features of chronic inflam-
mation, which is defined as the functional endometrial
stroma and glands outside the uterine cavity [ 1]. The main
clinical manifestations of endometriosis are lower abdom-
inal pain, dysmenorrhea, infertility, sexual discomfort, ab-
normal menstruation, local periodic pain, and bleeding.
There are approximately 6– 10% of women of childbearing
age suffering from endometriosis in the world, and the in-
fertility rate among them is as high as 50%, seriously af-
fecting the women health [ 2]. Endometriosis is mainly
affected by estrogen and progesterone, which promote
endometrial tissue proliferation, survival, and inflamma-
tion [ 3]. In addition, the development of endometriosis is
also related to progesterone resistance [ 4]. The most com-
mon theory of endometriosis is the implantation theory,
which may be related to genetic and immune inflamma-
tory factors [ 5, 6]. However, there is still no effective drug
to treat endometriosis.
In eukaryotes, there are many stressors that can cause
protein damage and induce an evolutionally conserved
cytoprotective mechanism, the heat shock response
(HSR), to maintain protein stability [ 7]. The heat shock
factor 1 (HSF1) plays a central role in refolding or de-
grading intracellular proteins [ 8]. HSF1 is a transcription
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* Correspondence:
[email protected];
[email protected]
Department of Reproductive Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Weifang Medical
University, Weifang, Shandong Province, People ’s Republic of China
Wang et al. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2021) 19:86
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-021-00770-9
factor that can respond to endogenous and exogenous
cellular stresses by inducing HSP expression, which
could facilitate the refolding of misfolded proteins [ 9].
HSF1 also plays an important role in tumor develop-
ment, which seriously affects its prognosis [ 10]. For ex-
ample, HSF1 is highly expressed in prostate cancer, and
plays its functions by increasing expression of its down-
stream effector HSP27 [ 11]. Other tumors such as colo-
rectal cancer, breast cancer, oral cancer, and liver cancer
also have a high HSF1 expression [ 7]. Furthermore,
HSF1 can improve the tumor microenvironment to pro-
mote its survival [ 12]. Therefore, HSF1 can be used as a
new therapeutic target. However, the roles of HSF1 in
endometriosis are still largely unknown.
The increases of glucose metabolism are beneficial to
the endometriosis development, and abnormal expres-
sions of glycolysis enzymes were detected in the endo-
metriosis cells [ 13]. Most normal cells mainly rely on the
oxidative metabolism to produce energy, but tumor cells
still choose to glycolysis pathway even in the sufficient
oxygen [ 14]. The glycolysis pathway could produce en-
ergy quickly, which could satisfy the cell rapid prolifera-
tion [ 15]. Lactate produced from glycolysis promotes
angiogenesis, cell invasion and immunosuppression,
which promotes tumorigenesis [ 16]. Interestingly, endo-
metriosis cell made a shift from oxidative phosphoryl-
ation to aerobic glycolysis, which inhibits the production
of reactive oxide species and then activates survival sig-
nals [ 17]. Therefore, glycolysis could be considered as a
target for the treatment of endometriosis. In the process
of glycolysis, there is a key enzyme named 6-
Phosphofructo-2-kinase/Fructose-2, 6-Biphosphatase 3
(PFKFB3), which belongs to a family of bio-functional
proteins [ 18]. There are four members of PFKFB family,
among which PFKFB3 has the highest catalytic activ-
ity in glycolysis [ 19]. PFKFB3, as a key enzyme of gly-
colysis, regulates the process of glycolysis and plays
an important role in the occurrence and development
of many diseases [ 20, 21]. Therefore, PFKFB3 has be-
come a potential target for drug development [ 22].
However, the role of PFKFB3 in endometriosis re-
mains unclear.
Endometriosis is a benign disease, but it has some
clinical characteristics similar to the tumor, such as im-
plantable, invasive, and distant metastasis. Moreover,
HSF1 was previously reported to be overexpressed in
endometriosis [ 23]. Therefore, we hypothesized that
HSF1 also regulated the endometriosis development. To
test this hypothesis, we manipulated HSF1 expression in
endometriosis cells, and used a constructed mouse
model. Our data demonstrated that HSF1 promoted
endometriosis development via enhancing PFKFB3 ex-
pression. Our study provides a new idea for the clinical
treatment of endometriosis by targeting HSF1.
Materials and methods
Cell culture and antibodies
The endometriotic epithelial cell line (11Z) was established
by Professor Anna Strazinski-Powitz [ 24]. The human
endometrial stromal cell line (ESC) was established by Dr.
Krikun [ 25]. All cell lines were cultured in Dulbecco ’ s
Modified Eagle Medium/Ham’ s F-12 50/50 Mix (DMEM/
F-12) supplemented with 10% FBS (Gibco, Carlsbad, CA,
USA) with 100 μg/mL penicilin and 100 μg/mL strepto-
mycin at 37 °C and 5% CO2.
Mouse anti- β-actin (A1978) was from Sigma-Aldrich,
and dilution: 1:5000. Mouse anti-HSF1 (sc-17,757) was
from Santa Cruz, and dilution: 1:1000. Rabbit anti-
PFKFB3 (ab181861) was purchase from Abcam, and di-
lution: 1:2000. KRIBB11 were obtained from Med Chem
Express (MCE), 50 mg/kg.
SiRNA and transfection
The sequence of small interfering (si) RNAs against
HSF1 was 5 ′- GCAGGUUGUUCAUAGUCAGAA-3 ′.
The sequence of Control (Negative Control) was 5 ′-
UUCUCCGAACGGUCACGU-3′ [26]. The transfection
was performed as described previously [ 27].
Western blot
The indicated cells were collected and lysed on ice using
lysis buffer (Beyotime, Shanghai, China, P0013), and
were centrifuged at 12000 rpm at 4 °C for 15 min. Then,
5 × loading buffer was added to the sample, and boiled
for 10 min. The protein was separated by SDS-PAGE and
transferred to PVDF membrane. After blocking, immuno-
blot assay was performed using indicated antibodies,
which was performed as described previously [ 28].
Quantitative real-time PCR
The isolation of total RNA from cells and the synthesis
of cDNA were described above [ 29]. Quantitative real-
time PCR used SYBR Green PCR Master Mix (Takara)
with CFX96 Real-Time PCR detection system (Bio-Rad,
shanghai, China).
Cell proliferation assay
The cells were transfected with the indicated plasmids.
After 24 h, the transfected cells were reseeded in 24-well
plates. The cell numbers were counted every 24 h for 4
days [ 28].
Colony-formation assay
The cells were transfected with indicated plasmids. After
24 h, 500 transfected cells were reseeded in new six-well
plates. After cultured for 10 – 14 days, the cells were fixed
with 4% paraformaldehyde for 15 min. Then, the cells
were stained with crystal violet for 20 min, and photo-
graphed [ 30].
Wang et al. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2021) 19:86 Page 2 of 10
Cell-scratch assay
The cells were transfected with indicated plasmids. After
24 h, the transfected cells were reseeded in new 6-well
plates. The pipette tip was used to draw a line and washed
with PBS. After 24 h, cells were photographed [ 31].
Glucose consumption and lactate production
The cells were transfected with indicated plasmids. After
24 h, the transfected cells were reseeded in new 6-well
plates. After 1 day, and the culture mediums were col-
lected to determine the concentration of glucose and
lactic acid using glucose (GO) assay kit (Sigma,
#GAGO20-1KT) and lactate assay kit (Biovision,
#K627– 100). The methods were performed as described
previously [ 28, 30].
Animal experiments
Animal experiments have been approved by ethics Com-
mittee of Weifang Medical University. We used 5-week-
old BALB/c female mice, and the donor mice ( n =5 )
were injected with estradiol benzoate to promote endo-
metrial development. Estradiol benzoate was diluted
with oil and injected intramuscularly into the thigh of
donor mice, 3 μg/mouse, 2 times for 1 week. After 1
week, the uterus from donor mice was cut into pieces
and intraperitoneally injected into the recipient mice.
After 1 week, the mice in the experimental group ( n =7 )
were intraperitoneally injected HSF1 inhibitor KRIBB11,
and the mice in the control group (n = 7) were injected
with normal saline, 2 times a week for 1 month. Then,
the mice were sacrificed to observe the endometrial
lesion.
Tissue collection and immunohistochemistry
All tissues were obtained from endometriosis mouse
model. The sections were embedded in paraffin, dried
and dewaxed with xylene, then hydrated in ethanol.
Antigen extract was heated in a microwave oven for 30
min, and incubated with 3% H 2O2 for 20 min to block
endogenous peroxidase. Primary antibody was incubated
overnight at 4 °C, and secondary antibody was incubated
in the next day. After staining with DAB, the nucleus
was stained with hematoxylin. Then, it is dehydrated in
ethanol and xylene. The immunohistochemistry was per-
formed as described previously [ 27]. The immunostain-
ing intensity was quantified using the Image J [ 32].
Statistical analysis
All statistical analyses were done using Graphpad Prism
5.0 software. The statistical analyses were presented as
mean ± SEM, and performed by two-tailed unpaired Stu-
dent’ s t-test. P values < 0.05 were considered to be statis-
tically significant. n.s. was not significant.
Results
HSF1 promotes cell proliferation, cell migration and clone
formation in endometriosis cells
To determine whether HSF1 plays an important role in
endometriosis, we manipulated HSF1 expression in
endometriosis cells. We found that HSF1 overexpression
significantly promoted cell proliferation in endometriosis
cells (Fig. 1A). Moreover, cell-scratch tests and clone
formation experiments revealed that HSF1 overexpres-
sion promoted cell migration and growth in endometri-
osis cells (Fig. 1B and C). Conversely, HSF1 knockdown
inhibited the growth of endometriosis cells (Fig. 1D and
F), and inhibited cell migration (Fig. 1E). These findings
suggest that HSF1 positively regulates cell proliferation
and migration in endometriosis cells.
HSF1 enhances glycolysis in endometriosis cells
Endometriosis cells need high glycolysis in the process
of rapid metastasis and growth [ 13]. To determine the
functions of HSF1 in glycolysis, we overexpressed or
knocked down HSF1 in endometriosis cells. Interest-
ingly, we found that HSF1 could increase both glucose
consumption and lactate production (Fig. 2A and B).
Subsequently, to determine whether HSF1 inhibitor
KRIBB11 could suppress glucose metabolism, we cul-
tured endometriosis cells with KRIBB11. Consistently,
KRIBB11 reduced the glucose consumption and lactic
acid generation in endometriosis cells (Fig. 2A and B).
These data show that HSF1 enhances glycolysis in endo-
metriosis cells.
HSF1 promotes PFKFB3 expression in endometriosis cells
In the previous experiment of the current study, we
showed that HSF1 promotes glycolysis in endometriosis
cell. Therefore, we hypothesized that regulation of gly-
colysis by HSF1 might depend on key glycolytic en-
zymes. So we selected three key enzymes in glycolysis to
verify our hypothesis, PFKFB3, PKM2 and HK2. Expos-
ing cells to heat-shock in a time-dependent manner, the
PFKFB3 expression were increased (Fig. 3A and B). But
heat-shock activation had little effect on the PKM2 and
HK2 expressions (Supplementary Fig. 1A and B). In
addition, overexpression HSF1 increased PFKFB3 ex-
pression (Fig. 3C and D). Conversely, HSF1 knockdown
resulted in a decrease in PFKFB3 expression (Fig. 3E and
F). Taken together, our results indicate that HSF1 pro-
motes PFKFB3 expression in endometriosis cells.
KRIBB11 inhibits endometriosis cell growth by targeting
HSF1
KRIBB11, a specific inhibitor of HSF1, effectively inhibits
HSF1 activity, leading to cell cycle arrest in the G2/M
phase, cell apoptosis, and inhibition of tumor cell prolif-
eration [ 33]. Cells were seeded in 24-well plates and
Wang et al. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2021) 19:86 Page 3 of 10
Fig. 1 (See legend on next page.)
Wang et al. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2021) 19:86 Page 4 of 10
(See figure on previous page.)
Fig. 1 HSF1 promotes the cell proliferation, cell migration and clone formation in endometriosis cells. ( A) 11Z and ESC cells were transfected with
HA-tagged HSF1 or empoty vector. After one day, cells were re-plated in 24-well plates, and cell counts were performed every 24 h to analyses
cell growth. ( B) 11Z and ESC cells were transfected with HA-tagged HSF1 or empoty vector. After one day, cells were re-plated in 6-well plates to
perform scratch test assay. ( C) 11Z and ESC cells were transfected with HA-tagged HSF1 or empoty vector. After one day, cells were re-plated in
6-well plates, and were cultured for 10 –14 days to observe the cell clone formation. ( D-F) 11Z and ESC cells were transfected with siRNA-HSF1 or
NC. Cell counting, scratching, and cloning were performed. All date are mean ± SD of three independent experiments (* P < 0.05)
Fig. 2 HSF1 enhances glycolysis in endometriosis cells. ( A, B) 11Z and ESC cells were transfected with HA-tagged HSF1 or empoty vector, siRNA
or NC. Cells were re-plated in 6-well plates. After 24 h, glucose and lactic acid concentrations in culture medium were determine using glucose
and lactic acid kits. 11Z and ESC cells were cultured with KRIBB11 for 24 h, and the concentration of glucose and lactic acid in the super-medium
was determined. All date are mean ± SD of three independent experiments (* P < 0.05)
Wang et al. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2021) 19:86 Page 5 of 10
given an increasing concentration of KRIBB11. The IC 50
values of two cell lines were measured (Fig. 4A). As we
expected, KRIBB11 inhibited the growth of endometri-
osis cells (Fig. 4B and C). Cell-scratch tests indicated
that KRIBB11 inhibited the migration of endometrial
cells (Fig. 4D). Western blot showed that PFKFB3 pro-
tein level was reduced after HSF1 inhibition by KRIBB11
(Fig. 4E). Thus, these data reveal that HSF1-specific in-
hibitor KRIBB11 reduces the key glycolytic enzyme
PFKFB3 expression by inhibiting HSF1, and ultimately
inhibits endometriosis cell growth.
KRIBB11 plays a therapeutic role in a mouse model of
endometriosis
To determine whether KRIBB11 regulates endometriosis
cell growth in vivo, the endometria of donor mice were
cut up and intraperitoneally injected into recipient mice.
After one week, a mouse model of endometriosis was
established, the experimental group was treated with
KRIBB11 and the control group was injected with nor-
mal saline (Fig. 5A). At the end, the mice were sacrificed
to observe ectopic lesion. Interestingly, all control mice
were observed the endometriosis tissues, but only two in
Fig. 3 HSF1 promotes PFKFB3 expression in endometriosis cells. ( A, B) 11Z and ESC cells were heat shocked in a time-dependent manner. The
expression of PFKFB3 was determined by Western blot and qRT-PCR. ( C, D) 11Z and ESC cells were transfected with HA-tagged HSF1 or empoty
vector, and the expressions of PFKFB3 were detected. ( E, F) 11Z and ESC cells were transfected with siRNA-HSF1 or NC. The expressions of
PFKFB3 were detected after 2 days. All date are mean ± SD of three independent experiments (*P < 0.05)
Wang et al. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2021) 19:86 Page 6 of 10
the mice treated with KRIBB11 were observed (Fig. 5B).
Ectopic lesions from mice treated with KRIBB11 grew
significantly slower than those in control group. Consist-
ently, the weight of ectopic lesions from mice treated
with KRIBB11 was lower than in the control group (Fig.
5C). Using immunohistochemical staining, we found that
HSF1 expression was significantly lower in the mice
treated with KRIBB11 (Fig. 5D). Taken together, HSF1-
specific inhibitor KRIBB11 plays a therapeutic role in
the mouse model of endometriosis.
Discussion
Endometriosis is an age-related disease of the reproductive
system, and its prevalence is up to 10% in premenopausal
women worldwide [ 6]. The diagnosis of endometriosis is
difficult, because experienced obstetricians and gynecolo-
gists are required to correctly assess the clinical symptoms
of this disease [ 34]. In recent years, more studies have
been published on how to treat endometriosis. However,
the treatment of endometriosis is still a clinical challenge,
which causes increased burdens to women of childbearing
age. Because endometriosis cells have similar characteris-
tics of invasion and metastasis with tumor cells, and HSF1
is a carcinogen promoting tumor progression, so we
speculate that HSF1 plays a similar role in the occurrence
and development of endometriosis. Our hypothesis is sup-
ported by a series of experiments. Our data show that
HSF1 promotes endometriosis development, and en-
hances glycolysis via up-regulating PFKFB3 in endometri-
osis cells. In mice, we treat with HSF1 inhibitor KRIBB11,
Fig. 4 KRIBB11 inhibits endometriosis cell growth by targeting HSF1. ( A) 11Z and ESC cells were plated in 24-well plates. KRIBB11 was given in a
concentration-dependent manner, and the IC 50 value of the drug was measured by cell counting. ( B) 11Z and ESC cells were plated in 24-well
plates, and the experimental group treated with HSF1 inhibitor KRIBB11. The cell counts were performed every 24 h for 4 days. ( C) 11Z and ESC
cells were plated in 6-well plates, and the experimental group treated with HSF1 inhibitor KRIBB11. After 10 –14 days, the cell clones were
analyzed. (D) 11Z and ESC cells were plated in 6-well plates, and the scratches were made by pipette tip. Experimental group was treated with
HSF1 inhibitor KRIBB11. After 24 h, the wound healing was analyzed. ( E) 11Z and ESC cells were plated in 6-well plates. The experimental group
was treated with HSF1 inhibitor KRIBB11. After 24 h, the cells are lysed for westen blot. All date are mean ± SD of three independent
experiments (*P < 0.05)
Wang et al. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2021) 19:86 Page 7 of 10
which could effectively inhibit endometriosis develop-
ment. Taken together, HSF1 is a promising target for
endometriosis.
HSF1 is discovered in 1984 as the main regulator of
HSR. HSF1 is activated after cell stress, which leads to the
HSP expression to protect cells. After heat shock, HSF1 is
phosphorylated, trimerized, and transferred to the nucleus
to induce chaperone gene expression by binding to DNA
sequence motifs known as heat shock elements (HSEs)
[35]. HSF1 transcriptional activity mainly depends on the
formation of trimer in the nucleus, and post-translational
modifications also could regulate its transcriptional activ-
ity, such as acetylation, phosphorylation, and methylation
[36]. Specially, HSF1 is found to play an important role in
multiple cancers, which promotes cell invasion, migration,
and proliferation of tumor cells [ 37]. Cancer cells rely on
HSR to support their rapid growth and counteract the
harmful mutations [ 38]. Previous studies have demon-
strated that HSF1 is highly expressed in endometrial car-
cinoma and is closely related to endometrial invasion,
which leads to a poor prognosis in estrogen receptor-
positive tumors [ 39]. Endometriosis is also a highly
estrogen-dependent disease [40]. Our study demonstrates
that HSF1 plays a crucial role in endometriosis develop-
ment, which is consistent with previous studies.
Metabonomics can be used as a diagnostic tool to study
the metabolic changes under the physiological or patho-
logical state of disease [ 41]. The lipid metabolism [ 42],
amino acid metabolism [ 43], and glucose metabolism [ 13]
in patients with endometriosis are increased. Women with
endometriosis have high levels of cholesterol compared to
a control group without endometriosis [ 42]. Quantitative
Fig. 5 KRIBB11 plays a therapeutic role in a mouse model of endometriosis. ( A) Endometriosis model was established using 5-week-old BALB/c
female mice. ( B) Mice were sacrificed, the endometriosis tissues and the weight of mice were analyzed (*P < 0.05). ( C) The size of the ectopic
tissues was observed and heterotopic tissues were weighed (*P < 0.05). ( D) Immunohistochemical staining was performed to determine the HSF1
expression in the control group and the experimental group (Scale bars, 50 μm). Quantitative analyses of HSF1 expression was performed. ( E)
HSF1 promoted glycolysis by up-regulating the expression of PFKFB3, which induced the development of endometriosis
Wang et al. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2021) 19:86 Page 8 of 10
analysis of lipid metabolites shows that the concentrations
of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine in patients
with early endometriosis (I-II) are decreased, while the
concentrations of phosphatidylic acid are increased [ 44].
Endometriosis is largely determined by estrogen synthesis
and metabolism genetic factors, which increase the risk of
developing endometriosis [ 45]. Similar to tumor cells,
Warburg Effect also occurs in stromal cells of endometrial
tissues, which increases glucose consumption and lactate
production [ 13]. In addition, increased glucose metabol-
ism may be the cause of excessive reactive oxygen species
in endometriosis [ 46]. Moreover, the expression of both
aerobic and anaerobic glycolytic markers was increased in
endometriosis patients, which ultimately contribute to
endometriosis development [ 47]. As a rate-limiting en-
zyme in glycolysis, PFKFB3 has the highest kinase activity
to guide glucose into glycolysis. In our study, we find
PFKFB3 is highly expressed and promotes glycolysis in
endometriosis cells, which is consistent with previous
study that glycolysis promotes endometriosis develop-
ment. Taken together, our findings provide some new in-
sights into the functions of HSF1/PFKFB3 axis in
endometriosis development, which is as a new target to
treat endometriosis (Fig. 5E).
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