Tissue-specific somatic stem-cell isolation and characterization from human endometriosis. Key roles in the initiation of endometrial proliferative disorders.

AIM: The endometrial-proliferation related diseases leads to endometrial hyperplasia, i.e., endometriosis. Endometrial progenitor and stem cells play key roles in the beginning of endometrial proliferative disorders. The purpose of this study was the isolation of stem cells in the endometriosis lesion as well as the evaluation and comparison of the stemness-related target genes in endometriosis endometrial stem cells (EESCs), normal endometrial stem cell (ESCs), endometrial lesions stem cell (ELSCs) and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). METHODS: EESCs, ESCs, ELSCs and MSCs were isolated. Flowcytometry and real-time PCR were utilized to detect the cell surface marker and expression pattern of 16 stemness genes. The proliferation of all stem cells was observed by MTT assay. The differentiation potential was evaluated by alizarin red, oil red O and RT-PCR method. The karyotyping was performed on EESCs and ELSCs at passage 20. RESULTS: The unique patterns of gene expression were detected although EESCs, ESCs, ELSCs and MSCs have a background expression of stemness-related genes. Spindle-like morphology, normal karyotype, adipogenic and osteogenic potential, significantly expression of Oct4, SALL4, DPPA2, Sox2, Sox17 and also specific surface markers such as CD44, CD105, CD90, CD73 and CD146 in EESCs and ELSCs was observed. CONCLUSION: According to our data, stem cells in endometriosis endometrial and endometriosis are such a informative tools to study of pathogenesis of gynecological diseases. Furthermore, endometrial stem/progenitor cells which easily obtain from tissue may be valuable targets for early diagnosis of endometrial disorders in the future.

High frequency of microsatellite instability in sporadic colorectal cancer patients in Iran.

Microsatellite instability in sporadic colorectal cancer patients was assessed, and the clinicopathological associations were evaluated in northeastern Iran, which is a high-risk region for gastrointestinal malignancies. Microsatellite instability (MSI) status of tumoral tissue, compared to normal tissue, was assessed with a standard panel of MSI markers on paraffin-embedded surgically resected tissues from 67 consecutive sporadic colorectal cancer patients. Eleven of the patients were under 40 years old. Female patients were significantly younger than male patients (mean age 54.2 vs 62.1 years, P = 0.020). MSI analysis revealed 18 cases of MSI-H (26.9%), 11 MSI-L (16.4%) and 38 MSS (microsatellite stable tumors; 56.7%). While a greater proportion of patients consisted of males, 56.7 vs 43.3% females, MSI-H was more frequent in females (34.5 vs 21.5%). MSI was associated with proximal location of tumor (P = 0.003) and lower stages of tumor (P = 0.002), while MSS tumors were associated with node metastasis. MSI has a higher frequency in sporadic colorectal cancer patients, suggesting that molecular epidemiology of the genetic alterations involved in colorectal cancer carcinogenesis has a different pattern in the Iranian population, which deserves further epidemiological attention. The high frequency of MSI-H in this population suggests that we should look at microsatellite instability prior to chemotherapy to determine the most appropriate chemotherapeutic strategy in our population.