The field of endometriosis etiopathogenesis aims to identify the origin of disease in endometrial disorders. Changes in gene and protein expression related to cell adhesion, collagenases, and, mainly, cell cycle regulators have been identified. We set out to analyze the expression of the transcription factor DP-1 (TFDP1) gene, which encodes a protein that controls the G1/S phase passage of the cell cycle, in the endometrium of women with deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE). Samples of endometrium from both endometriosis-affected women and healthy women were collected, cultured and maintained at the Cell Bank of the Pelvic Pain and Endometriosis Unit of the Federal University of Sao Paulo. This study analyzed five samples from the endometrium cell culture of healthy patients (i.e. no pelvic disease, as determined by means of laparoscopic tubal ligation) and six samples from women diagnosed with DIE. Samples were evaluated for TFDP1 gene expression by real-time PCR. We observed a downregulation of TFDP1 in the endometrium cells of women with DIE when compared to the control (a fold-change of -2.05, p value=.011). The TFDP1 gene is part of the cell cycle pathway, but its function is not yet clear. Additional studies are necessary to clarify the function of TFDP1 in endometriosis etiopathogenesis.
Keywords: Endometriosis; TFDP1; endometrium.