ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is the most prevalent gynecological disease with elusive etiology. The mysterious entity and the lack of noninvasive diagnostic methods affect women's lives negatively. This study is aimed at finding the relationship between miR-340-5p, 92a-3p, and miR-381-3p and the pathogenesis of endometriosis in endometrial mesenchymal stem-like cells (eMSCs) of endometriosis and assessing their potential as a noninvasive biomarker in plasma. METHODS: Peripheral blood and eMSC specimens were collected from suspected women of endometriosis before laparoscopy. Total RNA was isolated from plasma and cultured eMSCs to synthesize complementary DNA. The expression of miR-340-5p, miR-92a-3p, and miR-381-3p was analyzed by RT-qPCR. To understand these miRNAs' role, we also did a bioinformatic analysis. RESULTS: There was a downregulation of miR-340-5p, miR-92a-3p, and miR-381-3p in plasma, and the upregulation of miR-340-5p and the downregulation of miR-92a-3p and miR-381-3p in eMSCs of women with endometriosis. There was a positive concordance between the expression of miR-92a-3p and miR-381-3p in plasma and eMSCs. Our study also showed three genes, Solute Carrier Family 6 Member 8 (SLC6A8), Zinc Finger Protein 264 (ZNF264), and mouse double minute 2 (MDM2), as common targets of these miRNAs. CONCLUSIONS: This study has been one of the first attempts to examine the expression of miR-340-5p, miR-92a-3p, and miR-381-3p in both plasma and eMSCs and revealed their possible role in endometriosis based on in silico analysis. Biomarkers pave the way to develop a new therapeutic approach to the management or treatment of endometriosis patients. Our result as a first report shows that combined levels of miRNAs 340-5p and 381-3p may have the potential to be utilized as diagnostic biomarkers for endometriosis.