Evaluation of Rap1GAP and EPAC1 Gene Expression in Endometriosis Disease.

Background: Endometriosis is a female reproductive system disease in which the endometrial tissue is found in other women's organs. Various factors are effective in the development of endometriosis, and because of the interaction of genetics and environmental factors, this disease is a multi-factorial disease. MAPK/ERK and PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathways are activated by growth factors and steroid hormones and are known as two important pathways involved in the processes of growth, proliferation, and survival of endometriosis cells. Raps, monomeric GTPase of the Ras family, are able to activate these pathways independent of Ras. The goal of our study was to evaluate the expression level of Rap1GAP and EPAC1 genes as two important RapGAPs (GTPase-activating proteins) and RapGEFs (guanine nucleotide exchange factors), respectively, in endometriosis tissues and normal endometrium tissues. Materials and Methods: In this study, 15 samples of women without signs of endometriosis were taken as control samples. Fifteen ectopic and 15 eutopic samples were taken from women with endometriosis using laparoscopic surgery. The expression of EPAC1 and Rap1GAP genes was investigated by the real-time polymerase chain reaction technique, and the results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA test. Results: EPAC1 upregulated significantly in ectopic tissues compared to eutopic and control tissues. Rap1GAP expression was lower in ectopic tissues compared to control and eutopic tissues. Conclusions: Based on these results, it may be concluded that changes in the expression of the Rap1GAP and Epca1 genes may play a role in the pathways involved in the pathogenesis, displacement, and migration of endometriosis cells.

Corrigendum to "Evaluation of NF1 and RASA1 gene expression in endometriosis" [Eur J Obstetr Gynecol Reprod Biol X 15 (2022) 100152].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.eurox.2022.100152.].

Evaluation of NF1 and RASA1 gene expression in endometriosis.

Background: Endometrios affecting 6-10% of women of reproductive ages around the globe. Important pathways, including the MAPK and PI3K / Akt pathways, have been identified in the disease. The NF1 and RASA1 genes inactivate Ras by their own GTPase activity and controlled the high activity of these pathways. Objective: In this study, we measured NF1 and RASA1 gene expression in the endometrial tissues of patients (eutopic and ectopic tissues) compared to the control samples. Materials and methods: In our study, tissue samples were collected from 15 patients with endometriosis and 15 healthy women. We used quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to measure the NF1 and RASA1 gene expression levels in these samples. Results: We observed a significant decrease in the expression level of the NF1 gene in both eutopic and ectopic samples of endometriosis patients compared to control samples, while the expression of the RASA1 gene was significantly reduced only in ectopic tissues.