Elevated RON protein expression in endometriosis and disease-associated ovarian cancers

Background Recepteur d’origine nantais (RON) protein expression has been demonstrated to correlate with tumor progression, metastasis, and prognosis, and its mRNA expression increases in deeply infiltrating endometriotic lesions. However, it remains unclear whether RON protein expression also increases in endometriotic lesions, and may be a risk factor of malignant transformation in endometriotic lesions.

The protein expression of RON in control (n = 19), eutopic (n = 16), and ectopic (n = 51) endometria, as well as in endometriosis-associated ovarian cancers (EAOC, n = 16) was determined by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining.

Endometriotic lesions expressed low levels of RON protein, but no RON protein expression appeared in matched eutopic or control endometrium. EAOC exhibited high levels of RON protein. The frequency and IHC score of RON protein expression were both significantly higher in EAOC [100.0% (14/14), 5.37 ± 0.74] than those in endometriotic lesions [51.0% (26/51), 2.15 ± 1.12; P = 0.002, 0.001]. Multivariate analysis of covariance only revealed a correlation of RON protein expression and EAOC (P = 0.006), but no correlations of RON protein expression and clinical parameters (P > 0.05).

These obtained results suggest that increased RON expression might be involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis and disease-associated ovarian cancers. Similar content being viewed by others

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We appreciate the financial support of the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 81270672, 81471433, 81471495, and 81671429), the Nature Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (Grant Nos. Y2110181, Y2110128, and LQ16H040001), the Science and Technology Fund of Zhejiang Province (Grant Nos. 2011C13028-1 and 2013C33149), and the Key Medical Science (Innovation) Project of Zhejiang Province. Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Ethics declarations Conflict of interest We declare no conflicts of interest. We have had full control of all primary data and that we agree to allow the Journal to review their data if requested. Ethical approval The study protocol was approved by the Human Ethics Committee of the Women’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University. Informed consent All subjects gave their informed consent to participate in this study. Additional information Ping Xu, Shaojie Ding, and Libo Zhu equally contribute to this manuscript. Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Xu, P., Ding, S., Zhu, L. et al. Elevated RON protein expression in endometriosis and disease-associated ovarian cancers. Arch Gynecol Obstet 295, 631–639 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-016-4248-x Received: Accepted: Published: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-016-4248-x