Investigation of autophagy-related mirnas and biomarkers in endometrium and periontoneal endometriotic tissues of endometriosis patients

Endometriosis is the presence of endometrial glands and stroma in ectopic locations, primarily in the pelvic peritoneum, ovaries, and rectovaginal septum. It is seen in 6-10% of women in the general population and 35-50% of women with pain and/or infertility. Studies support the definition of endometriosis as a pelvic inflammatory condition. In women with endometriosis, macrophages and cytokines are increased in the peritoneal fluid. Cell cycle progression, proliferation, and differentiation are biological processes regulated by miRNAs through altered expression of target genes. Autophagy plays a role in many physiological mechanisms, including the elimination of misfolded or aggregated proteins, starvation, anti-aging, cell growth, and innate immunity. Our results showed that mTOR levels are high in ectopic endometrium, indicating an impaired autophagic response in this disease, and Beclin-1, a protein that supports autophagy, is also reduced in eutopic endometrium. According to our results, Mir-375, Mir-99a expression was found to be significantly higher in eutopic endometrium compared to ectopic endometrium and normal endometrium and peritoneum. Mir-138 expression was significantly increased in ectopic endometrium compared to eutopic endometrium, normal endometrium and normal peritoneum. Mir-182 expression was found to be significantly decreased in ectopic endometrium compared to both normal endometrium and eutopic endometrium. Key words: Endometriosis, autophagy, MiRNA, inflammation