Expression of aquaporins in eutopic and ectopic endometrium of patients with endometriosis

Objective To investigate the expressions of aquaporin 2(AQP2) and aquaprin 8(AQP8) in eutopic and ectopic endometrium of patients with endometriosis(EMs)and to elucidate possible impact of AQP2 and AQP8 on EMs.Methods 53 patients in our hospital were selected,among them 37 cases were EMs patients,they were divided into eutopic endometrium(Eu-Em) group and ectopic endometrium(Ec-En) group;15 healthy subjects were used as control(Co-Em) group.The AQP2 and AQP8 mRNA and protein expressions in endometrium tissues in Eu-Em group,Ec-Em group and Co-Em group were detected with real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting.Results Compared with Co-Em group,the AQP2 and AQP8 mRNA levels in Eu-Em group had no significant difference(P0.05);the AQP2 mRNA level in Ec-Em group was significantly high than those in Co-Em and Eu-Em(P0.05),the AQP8 mRNA level in Ec-Em group was significantly lower than those in Co-Em and Eu-Em group(P0.05).Compared with Co-Em group,the AQP2 and AQP8 protein expressions in Eu-Em group had no significant difference(P0.05),but the AQP2 and AQP8 protein expression levels in Ec-Em group were significantly lower than those in Co-Em and Eu-Em groups(P0.05).Conclusion AQP2 and AQP8 may play an important role in occurence and development of endometriosis.