Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist and danazol normalize aromatase cytochrome P450 expression in eutopic endometrium from women with endometriosis, adenomyosis, or leiomyomas

Ishihara H, Hiroaki Ishihara, Jo Kitawaki, Kitawaki J, Kado N, Noriko Kado, Koshiba H, Hisato Koshiba, Shinji Fushiki, Fushiki S, Hideo Honjo, Honjo H
Fertility and Sterility · 2003 · vol. 79 , pp. 735–742 · doi:10.1016/s0015-0282(02)04813-6 · PMID:12620485 · W2110983321
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 70 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-15 ⓘ

This study investigated and found that gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist and danazol treatment normalized aromatase cytochrome P450 expression in eutopic endometrium from women with endometriosis, adenomyosis, or leiomyomas.

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

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate whether GnRH agonists or danazol therapy normalizes estrogen metabolism in the eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis, adenomyosis, or leiomyomas.DesignProspective clinical study.SettingUniversity hospital.Patient(s)Fifty-three women with endometriosis, adenomyosis, or leiomyomas.Intervention(s)Patients received GnRH agonist or danazol. Biopsy samples of the endometrium were obtained before and after endocrine therapy. Nontreated endometrial explants were cultured in the presence of either drug.Main outcome measure(s)Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction-Southern blot and immunohistochemical analyses of the endometrial expression of aromatase cytochrome P450, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and Ki-67. Nontreated endometrial explants were cultured in the presence of either drug.Result(s)Messenger RNA and protein of aromatase cytochrome P450 were greatly reduced in the eutopic endometrium of patients treated with GnRH agonist for 2 months or more or with danazol for 1 month or more. Culture of endometrial explants with GnRH agonist (10(-9)-10(-7) M) did not change the amount of aromatase cytochrome P450, whereas danazol (10(-7)-10(-6) M) efficiently reduced aromatase cytochrome P450 expression.Conclusion(s)Therapy with GnRH agonist or danazol decreases expression of aromatase cytochrome P450 in diseased eutopic endometrium. Endocrine therapy normalized in part the impaired hormonal expression of the eutopic endometrium. GnRH agonist reduced aromatase cytochrome P450 expression mainly by promoting a hypoestrogenic state, whereas danazol reduced aromatase cytochrome P450 in part by direct action on the eutopic endometrium.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosisadenomyosis

MeSH descriptors

Aromatase Danazol Estrogen Antagonists Estrogens Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Uterine Diseases Adult Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal Aromatase Aromatase Aromatase Buserelin Buserelin Danazol Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Estrogen Antagonists

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 (32)

Cited by (50)

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: 2026-05-13T22:12:55.732728+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK