neuropeptide-y and Endometriosis

To evaluate the expression of neurotrophic (NGF, NPY and VIP) and pro-inflammatory (TNF-α) mediators in the rectum and sigmoid fragments compromised by endometriosis.. Twenty-four patients were selected to undergo surgical treatment of endometriosis of the rectum and sigmoid colon with a segmental resection technique, followed by end-to-end anastomosis with a circular stapler from January 2005 to December 2007. The study included premenopausal women who underwent surgical treatment for deep endometriosis infiltrating the rectum with involvement of the rectum and sigmoid, reaching the level of the muscle layer, submucosa or mucosa. Twenty-four rectum and sigmoid fragments with histologically confirmed endometriosis, one from each of the 24 selected patients, were used for the study group. For the control group, we used a fragment of the distal resection margin called anastomosis ring from each of the 24 patients enrolled in the study. Samples were grouped into Tissue Micro Array (TMA) blocks and subjected to immunohistochemistry to evaluate the expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), nerve growth factor (NGF), neuropeptide Y (NPY) and P vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), followed by semiquantitative analysis of immunostaining by reading the relative optical density (OD).. There was higher optical density relative to TNF-α immunostaining and NGF in the study group (samples with intestinal endometriosis), DO=0.01, for the two proteins, respectively (p<0.05), compared to controls without endometriosis. There was no statistically significant difference in the optical density of immunostaining of NPY and VIP.. We identified increased immunostaining of TNF-α antibodies and fragments of NGF in the rectum and sigmoid compromised by endometriosis compared to disease-free controls. We did not identify any statistical difference in immunostaining of NPY and VIP proteins.

Topics: Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Endometriosis; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Nerve Growth Factor; Neuropeptide Y; Rectal Diseases; Sigmoid Diseases; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide

Endometriosis is a disease of high prevalence and enigmatic origin. One aspect not yet clarified is the relationship between endometriosis and nerve tissue.. To evaluate, by immunohistochemistry, the presence of sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve fibers in the uterosacral ligament and adjacent connective tissue in women with deep pelvic endometriosis and women without endometriosis.. Cross-sectional study (Canadian Task Force II).. University Hospital. Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Santa Casa Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil.. We selected 49 patients, 20 of them with deep endometriosis in the uterosacral ligament and 29 patients without endometriosis. Secondary antibodies to NSE (pan-neuronal marker), NPY (that identifies sympathetic nerve fibers), and VIP (that identifies parasympathetic nerve fibers) were used for the immunohistochemistry analyses.. The immunohistochemical staining by the NSE antibody was positive in 40% of cases of women with endometriosis and in 20.7% of patients without endometriosis (non-significant). The immunohistochemical staining by the NPY antibody was positive in 60% of patients with endometriosis and in 20.7% of the control group (p=0.005), while staining by the VIP antibody was 60% in patients with endometriosis and 13.8% in patients without endometriosis (p=0.001).. Immunoexpression of NPY (sympathetic fibers) and VIP (parasympathetic fibers) is higher in women with deep pelvic endometriosis than in women without endometriosis.

Topics: Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Endometriosis; Female; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Ligaments; Nerve Fibers; Neuropeptide Y; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase; Sacrum; Uterus; Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide