ABSTRACT
Endometriosis is a chronic debilitating inflammatory condition characterized by the presence of endometrial tissues outside the uterine cavity. Pelvic soreness and infertility are the usual association. Due to the poor effectiveness of the hormone therapy and the high incidence of recurrence following surgical excision, there is no single effective option for management of endometriosis. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells studied for their broad immunoregulatory and anti-inflammatory properties; however, their efficiency in endometriosis cases is still a controversial issue. Our study aim was to evaluate whether adipose tissue-derived MSCs (AD-MSCs) could help with endometriosis through their studied anti-inflammatory role. Methods: Female Wistar rats weighting 180 to 250 g were randomly divided into two groups: group 1, endometriosis group; established by transplanting autologous uterine tissue into rats’ peritoneal cavities and group 2, stem cell treated group; treated with AD-MSCs on the 5th day after induction of endometriosis. The proliferative activity of the endometriosis lesions was evaluated through Ki67 staining. Quantitative estimation of interferon γ, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, IL-10, and transforming growth factor β expression, as well as immunohistochemical detection of CD68 positive macrophages, were used to assess the inflammatory status. Results: The size and proliferative activity of endometriosis lesions were significantly reduced in the stem cell treated group. Stem cells efficiently mitigated endometriosis associated chronic inflammatory reactions estimated through reduction of CD68 positive macrophages and the expression of the proinflammatory cytokines. Conclusion: Stem cell therapy can be considered a novel remedy in endometriosis possibly through its anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative properties.
ABSTRACT
The distinction between benign and malignant thyroid tumors is critical for the management of patients with thyroid nodules. We applied immunohistocmhem1ical stainig for HBMF-1, COX-2 and CK19 to determine their diagnostic accuracy in diagnosis of thyroid lesions. The expression was significantly associated with thyroid carcinoma. The sensitivity was 77.8% with HBME-1, 100% with COX-2 and 100% with CK19 for papillary carcinoma: 80% with HBME-1, 60% with COX-2 and 100%with CK19 for follicular carcinoma. The specificity of these antibodies was 100% for thyroid carcinoma included in this study. Comparing papillary carcinoma with papillary hyperplasia, the three antibodies were significantly expressed in papillary carcinoma. Comparing follicular variants of papillary carcinoma with follicular carcinoma, the expression of CK19 was significantly higher in follicular variants of papillary carcinoma, while COX-2 was higher in follicular carcinoma, comparing follicular carcinoma with follicular adenoma, the expression of COX-2 and HBME-1 was significantly higher in follicular carcinoma, we suggest that: [1] COX-2 and HBME-1 positivity may indicate malignancy in thyroid lesions. [2] Diffuse CK19 positivity can aid in the differential diagnosis of classic papillary carcinoma and follicular variants of papillary carcinomas vs. follicular carcinoma and other benign thyroid lesions mimickers. [3] COX-2 expression may serve as useful molecular marker for cases of follicular carcinoma with diagnostic difficulty