Aberrant Expression of lncRNA ( HOXA11-AS1) and Homeobox A ( HOXA9, HOXA10, HOXA11, and HOXA13) Genes in Infertile Women With Endometriosis.

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to study the expression of homeobox (HOX)A11-AS1 ( HOXA11 antisense RNA) long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and the expression of homeobox A ( HOXA9, HOXA10, HOXA11, and HOXA13) genes in the eutopic (EU) and ectopic (EC) endometria of women with peritoneal endometriosis. A total of 30 women undergoing laparoscopic surgery for peritoneal endometriosis and 15 infertile women without endometriosis were enrolled in this study. Peritoneal EC tissue samples were obtained through surgery. The EU tissues were obtained by curettage. The EC and EU lncRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels were measured using real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The HOXA11-AS1 lncRNA and HOXA9, HOXA10, HOXA11, and HOXA13 mRNA were expressed at significantly lower levels in the EU than in the EC, that is, in women with peritoneal endometriosis ( P < .05). The expression levels of HOXA10 and HOXA11 in the EU were significantly lower in women with peritoneal endometriosis compared to the control group participants ( P < .05), whereas the levels of lncRNA ( HOXA11-AS1), HOXA9, and HOXA13 did not differ significantly between the 2 patient groups ( P > .05). In conclusion, the study findings suggest that HOXA11-AS1 lncRNA may play a role in the development of peritoneal endometriosis, but HOXA11-AS1 may not influence endometrial receptivity in endometriosis-associated infertility.