Viii. evaluation of Apoptosis ? caspase-3 and Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 in ethyopathogenesis of endometriosis-

Endometriosis is a benign, estrogen dependent disease and its ethyopathogenesis is not fully understood currently. Apoptosis is crucial for regulation of eutopic endometrial function. Ectopic tissue outside uterine cavity either increases cellular proliferation or reduces apoptosis in response to appropriate stimulus in endometriosis. Matrix metalloproteinases are a group of enzyme involved in extracellular matrix destruction. Expression of these enzymes increase during menstrual and proliferative phase while decrease during secretory phase. Moreover it is mandatory to destruct extracellular matrix for endometrial cells to invade periton and create endometriotic lesions. After ethics board approval was obtained, a case group of 30 patients with endometriosis and a control group of 30 patients without endometriosis were included in the study. Biopsy samples were taken from endometriotic lesions of patients with endometriosis and from endometrial tissue of control group. Furthermore sampling was made from eutopic endometrium of 9 patients included in the case group. Caspase-3 (glandular and stromal) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (glandular and stromal) levels were evaluated in apoptotic surface of materials. In this study we found that the percentage of apoptosis and caspase-3 levels in the case group were diminished. As a result, our study underlines that these parameters which are assesed may have a role in ethyopathogenesis of endometriosis.