RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of aquaporin (AQP) in eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues from women with endometriomas. DESIGN: Controlled laboratory research. SETTING: Hospital-based unit for gynecology and obstetrics and research laboratories. PATIENT(S): Premenopausal women undergoing laparoscopy for endometriomas. INTERVENTION(S): Endometrial biopsy samples obtained from 70 women with endometriomas. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Semiquantitative analysis by immunohistochemistry. RESULT(S): Aquaporins 2, 5, and 8 were mainly located in luminal and glandular epithelia. The frequency of positive immunostaining for aquaporins 2, 5, and 8 decreased in ectopic compared with eutopic endometria. Aquaporins 2, 5, and 8 were found at a low frequency in the endometria in early proliferative phases but at a higher frequency in late proliferative and secretory phases. There were no significant differences in the menstrual cycle of the proliferative phase and secretory phase in the two groups. CONCLUSION(S): Aquaporins 2, 5, and 8 were expressed with greater frequency in eutopic endometrial cells than inectopic endometrial cells, suggesting that eutopic endometrial cells have stronger migration activity than ectopic endometrial cells in women with endometriosis.
