Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Gabriele Saretzki
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Telomeres protect chromosomal ends and they are maintained by the specialised enzyme, telomerase. Endometriosis is a common gynaecological disease and high telomerase activity and higher hTERT levels associated with longer endometrial telomere lengths are characteristics of eutopic secretory endometrial aberrations of women with endometriosis. Our ex-vivo study examined the levels of hTERC and DKC1 RNA and dyskerin protein levels in the endometrium from healthy women and those with endometriosis (n=117). The in silico study examined endometriosis-specific telomere- and telomerase-associated gene (TTAG) transcriptional aberrations of secretory phase eutopic endometrium utilising publicly available microarray datasets. Eutopic secretory endometrial hTERC levels were significantly increased in women with endometriosis compared to healthy endometrium, yet dyskerin mRNA and protein levels were unperturbed. Our in silico study identified 10 TTAGs (CDKN2A, PML, ZNHIT2, UBE3A, MCCC2, HSPC159, FGFR2, PIK3C2A, RALGAPA1, HNRNPA2B1) to be altered in mid-secretory endometrium of women with endometriosis. High levels of hTERC and the identified other TTAGs will be part of the established alteration in the eutopic endometrial telomerase biology in women with endometriosis in the secretory phase of the endometrium and our data informs future research to unravel the fundamental involvement of telomerase in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.
Author(s): Alnafakh A, Choi F, Bradfield A, Adishesh M, Saretzki G, Hapangama D
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Biomedicines
Year: 2020
Volume: 8
Issue: 12
Online publication date: 09/12/2020
Acceptance date: 03/12/2020
Date deposited: 03/12/2020
ISSN (electronic): 2227-9059
Publisher: MDPI AG
URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines8120588
DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines8120588
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
