1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2 Department of Molecular Pathology, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, 3 Division of Cytokine Signaling, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
4 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8501, Japan. E-mail: nemokhan{at}net.nagasaki-u.ac.jp
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Abstract |
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Key words:
cell growth/endometriosis/hepatocyte growth factor/IL-6/TNF
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Introduction |
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A recent study (Khan et al., 2005b) suggests that activated macrophages are increased in the peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis. These activated macrophages secrete numerous macromolecules that may contribute to the implantation of endometrial cells and the progression of endometriosis (Eisermann et al., 1988
; Buyalos et al., 1992
; Donnez et al., 1998
). There is no doubt that, besides ovarian steroid hormones, the regulation of the growth or maintenance of endometrial or endometriotic tissues is contributed to by a number of cytokines and growth factors such as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, tumour necrosis factor
(TNF
), vascular endothelial cell growth factor and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) (Fujishita et al., 1999
; Harada et al., 2001
; Khan et al., 2003
, 2005a,b). Among these different cytokines and growth factors, HGF has been reported to possess divergent biological activities in the invasion, growth or metaplastic transformation of endometrial tissue and pelvic mesothelium (Khan et al., 2003
; Ishimaru et al., 2004
; Yoshida et al., 2004
).
Several studies have demonstrated that HGF is elevated in the peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis compared with healthy controls (Osuga et al., 1999; Khan et al., 2002
, 2004a
). Besides the paracrine mode of action, the activity of HGF in an autocrine fashion has already been demonstrated in isolated endometrial stroma, stroma of endometriotic cysts and macrophages derived from women with endometriosis (Yoshida et al., 2004
; Khan et al., 2005a
).
We have recently demonstrated (Khan et al., 2005a) that HGF can be regulated in endometrial cells and inflammatory cells by basal and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages and is involved in the growth of endometriosis. Since pelvic endometriotic tissues are a regurgitated product of uterine endometrium bathed in the peritoneal fluid, which is enriched with different cytokines, and the HGF promoter region retains the responsive element for IL-6 and TNF
(Zarnegar, 1995)
, it is possible that the production of HGF may be regulated by IL-6 and TNF
in endometrial stromal cells. However, studies are limited regarding the regulation of HGF using stromal cells derived from either eutopic or ectopic endometrium of pelvic endometriosis. A single report by Sugawara et al. (1997)
demonstrated significantly increased secretion of HGF by basal stromal cells derived from the eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis compared with women without endometriosis.
Therefore, we investigated the production of HGF by endometrial stromal cells in response to IL-6 and TNF at both the protein and the transcriptional level. In addition, we examined the immunolocalization of HGF and its receptor, c-Met, in isolated stroma and intact tissues. Finally, we demonstrated the growth-promoting effect of exogenous HGF either alone or in combination with IL-6 or TNF
on stromal cells derived from the eutopic and ectopic endometrium of women with or without pelvic endometriosis.
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Material and methods |
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All women with or without endometriosis had regular menstrual cycles (2832 days). All induced menstrual cycles were excluded from the current study. For the isolation of stromal cells in primary culture, biopsy samples were collected from either eutopic or ectopic endometrium of 18 women with endometriosis and 12 women without endometriosis. All biopsy specimens and peritoneal fluids were collected in accordance with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and with the approval by the Nagasaki University Institutional Review Board. Informed consent was obtained from all women.
Isolation and culture of stromal cells
Stroma was collected from the biopsy specimens of eutopic and ectopic endometrium derived from the women with or without endometriosis. The detail procedure for the isolation of stroma is described previously (Osteen et al., 1989; Sugawara et al., 1997
; Khan et al., 2005a
).
The characteristics of the cultured stromal cells were determined by morphological appearance and immunocytochemical studies using human vimentin monoclonal antibody (stromal cell-specific) at a dilution of 1:20 (V9; Dako, Glostrup, Denmark) and as described recently (Khan et al., 2005a). The isolated cells were placed in four-chamber slides (Nunc, Naperville, IL, USA). After 24 h, the slides were washed in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde for 10 min, and rinsed with PBS. Slides then were incubated in 0.1% Triton X-100 for 5 min and incubated for 3 h at 37°C with the following antibodies to exclude contamination with other cells: monoclonal antibody (mAb) against human cytokeratin (epithelial-cell specific) at a dilution of 1:50 (MNF 116; Dako), mAb against human von Willebrand factor (endothelial-cell specific) at a dilution of 1:50 (Dako), and mAb against CD45 (other leucocytes) at 1:50 dilution (Dako). The specificity of the immunocytochemical staining was confirmed by the deletion of the first antibody. Immunocytochemical staining was performed on at least three different isolated cells with similar results.
HGF assay in the culture media of treated and non-treated stromal cells
The culture media of basal (non-treated) and stimulated (1, 10 and 50 ng/ml each of IL-6 and TNF) stromal cells were collected prospectively and assays were performed retrospectively in each of six women with and without endometriosis (three in the proliferative phase and three in the secretory phase of menstruation). The concentrations of HGF in the serum-free culture media were measured in duplicate using a commercially available sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Quantikine; R & D system, Minneapolis, MN, USA) in a blind fashion. The antibody used in HGF determination does not cross-react with other cytokines. The use of anti-HGF antibody did not affect this assay system. The limit of detection was 40.0 pg/ml for HGF. The intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation were both <10% for all these assays. The neutralizing effect on HGF secretion in the culture media was also performed by preincubation for 4 h with each of anti-IL-6 antibody, anti-TNF
antibody and anti-HGF antibody (10 µg/ml for each), and the cells were then treated with either IL-6 or TNF
(10 ng/ml for each) for another 24 h without washing the preincubated antibodies.
Immunolocalization of HGF in isolated cells and in intact tissue
In order to immunolocalize HGF and its receptor, c-Met, in vimentin-immunoreactive isolated stromal cells and in intact tissue, we performed immunohistochemistry using antibodies on paraffin-embedded tissue sections of eutopic and ectopic endometrium derived from each of six women with or without endometriosis (three in the proliferative phase and three in the secretory phase). We used a 1:50 dilution of a rabbit polyclonal antibody against a recombinant protein of HGF (H-145) (sc-7949; Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA, USA) and a 1:20 dilution of mouse monoclonal antibody raised against NCL-c-Met receptor (clone 8F11; Novocastra Laboratories, Newcastle, UK) of human origin.
Immunohistochemistry was performed in 5 µm thick serial sections of paraffin-embedded tissues as described previously (Khan et al., 2003, 2005a). Non-immune mouse immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 antibody (1:50) was used as a negative control. Placental tissue, which is known to exhibit high levels of HGF, was used as a positive control. The immunostaining was quantified by a modified method of quantitative histogram scoring (Q-H score) as described recently (Khan et al., 2003
; Ishimaru et al., 2004)
. The Q-H score was calculated using the following equation: Q-H score = Spi (I + 1), where i = 1, 2 or 3 and Pi is the percentage of stained cells for each intensity. The staining intensity was graded as 0 = no staining, 1 = weak, 2 = moderate, and 3 = strong. We calculated the mean Q-H scores of five different fields of one section by light microscopy at moderate magnification (x200).
Determination of HGF and c-Met mRNA by RT-RCR in stromal cells
We used the RTPCR technique to determine the mRNA levels of HGF and its receptor, c-Met, in basal (non-treated) and stimulated stromal cells (treated with 1, 10 and 50 ng/ml of each of IL-6 and TNF either alone or in combination) derived from women with or without endometriosis. Total RNA was isolated from each of 106 stromal cells cultured in 60 mm Petri dishes (Greiner) using monophasic solutions of 40% phenol and Isogen (Molecular Research Center, Tokyo, Japan), according to the manufacturers protocol.
Reverse transcription of RNA extracted from cultured endometrial stromal cells and cDNA and PCR amplification were performed as described recently (Khan et al., 2005a). The human oligonucleotide primers of HGF, c-Met and
-actin use in the present study, their location in the cDNA molecule and the corresponding GenBank accession numbers have been described previously (Khan et al., 2005a
).
The amplification reaction was initiated by heat denaturation at 94°C for 1 min, annealing of the primers for 1 min at 59°C and extension for 1 min at 72°C. This was repeated for 32 cycles for each of HGF and c-Met using a PCR apparatus (Takara Biomedicals, Tokyo, Japan). The amplification protocol for -actin, used as an internal control, was same as above except that the annealing condition for the primer was 62°C for 1 min and the reaction was repeated for 23 cycles. After the final cycle, the temperature was maintained at 72°C for 10 min to allow completion of synthesis of amplification products. Although not shown, a control with no reverse transcription was run with each sample to confirm that PCR products were free of DNA contamination.
Analysis of PCR-amplified products was performed by fractionation over a 1.5% agarose gel followed by ethidium bromide staining of DNA bands. A scanner densitometer was used to determine the ratio of intensity of each band relative to -actin, and is represented as the relative expression of the target gene. This relative expression is defined by the fold increase of the mRNA band intensity compared with the basal levels (0 control) and normalized to 1, as described recently (Khan et al., 2005a
). Densitometric analysis of gel bands was performed using the National Institutes of Health image analysis program (Image J1.33).
Cell proliferation assay by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation study
Proliferation of the stromal cells derived from eutopic and ectopic endometrium was determined spectrophotometrically by measuring the incorporation of BrdU into the replicated cells. The detail procedure for the BrdU incorporation assay was described recently (Khan et al., 2005a). The absorbance values correlated directly with the amount of DNA synthesis and thereby with the number of proliferating cells in the culture. The cell proliferation study was performed after single or combined treatment with recombinant IL-6, TNF
or HGF (R & D Systems).
In order to test whether, besides IL-6 and TNF, growth-promoting factor activity in the treated culture medium is contributed by HGF, we used antibody to deplete HGF in the conditioned medium. Cells were pretreated with anti-HGF antibody (10 µg/ml; R & D Systems), incubated for 4 h and then again treated with exogenous IL-6, TNF
or HGF for another 24 h without washing the preincubated antibody; changes in cell growth were then examined.
Statistical analysis
The clinical characteristics of the subjects were evaluated by one-way analysis of variance. The data are expressed as mean ±SEM or mean ± SD. The distribution of each result was initially analysed with the F-test. When the F-test indicated a skewed distribution, we applied non-parametric statistical analysis, such as the MannWhitney U-test. When the F-test indicated a normal distribution of the results between groups, we applied parametric statistical analysis, such as Students t-test. Since the concentration of HGF in the culture media was not normally distributed, HGF level differences between endometriosis and non-endometriosis were analysed by non-parametric test. Other continuous variables between groups were compared with Students t-test. Spearmans rank order correlation test was used to determine the correlation between pairs of markers. A power calculation was performed to assess the number of patients required in the proliferative and secretory phases to detect a statistically significant (P = 0.05) difference in the means of 500 pg/ml of HGF at a power of 80%. Differences were considered as statistically significant at P < 0.05.
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Results |
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HGF production by single and combined treatment of IL-6 and TNFa
After an initial time-dependent study, we found that HGF concentration in the culture media after IL-6 and TNFa treatment peaked at 2448 h (data not shown). Therefore, in all our following studies we cultured all treated-and non-treated cells for a period of 24 h. As shown in Figure 2A, HGF production in the culture medium was more increased in women with endometriosis (4- to 6-fold) than in women without endometriosis (3- to 4-fold). Although a peak increase in the concentration of HGF was noted at 10 ng/ml each of IL-6 and TNFa compared with either at 1 ng/ml or 50 ng/ml, and also when compared with non-treated stromal cells (Figure 2A), a synergistic effect between IL-6 and TNFa (each at 10 ng/ml and 50 ng/ml) on increasing HGF production was equally observed in women with and without endometriosis. However, no significant difference was observed between single treatment and combined treatment with these cytokines in women with endometriosis and women without endometriosis.
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When we compared the secretion of HGF by basal (non-treated) and treated stromal cells between women with and without endometriosis, we found that basal stromal cells of women with endometriosis secreted more HGF in the culture media than those from women without endometriosis (180.4 ± 14.2 versus 120.1 ± 2.5pg/ml, P = 0.06), although this difference did not reach statistical significance. However, HGF production by the stromal cells of endometriosis was significantly higher than that from non-endometriosis after single treatment with 10 ng/ml of IL-6 (478.2 ± 20.6 versus 321.5 ± 26.2 pg/ml, P < 0.05) or after combined treatment with IL-6 and TNF (642.2 ± 55.0 versus 461.4 ± 25.8 pg/ml at 10 ng/ml each, P < 0.05; and 613.5 ± 19.9 versus 493.2 ± 7.2 pg/ml at 50 ng/ml each, P < 0.05; Figure 2A). Although an apparent increase in the secretion of HGF was observed after treatment with 10 or 50 ng/ml of TNF
and combined treatment with 1 ng/ml of each of IL-6 and TNF
in women with endometriosis, no significant difference was found when compared with similarly treated cells from non-endometriosis women (Figure 2A).
We also did not find any difference in the secretion of HGF between the proliferative and secretory phases of the menstrual cycle (data not shown). A sample size calculation indicated that 50 patients in each group would be required to detect with 80% power a significant difference (P = 0.05) in the value of HGF between the proliferative and secretory phases of menstruation.
Since culture media of IL-6- and TNF-treated stromal cells retain other macromolecules in addition to HGF and in order to confirm that the secreted product in the culture media is HGF after stimulation and that its production is mediated by IL-6 and TNF
, we extended our experiment by using antibody to deplete IL-6, TNF
or HGF in the conditioned medium of stromal cells derived from women with endometriosis. This neutralizing effect of the respective antibodies on the production of HGF is shown in Figure 2B. We found that, although not significant, the blocking effect of IL-6, TNF
or HGF tended to decrease the production of HGF in the culture medium towards the level of production by non-treated stromal cells (Figure 2B). This indicates that, besides other cytokines and growth factors, the treated culture medium contains HGF and that its production is mediated by IL-6 and TNF
.
Immunolocalization of HGF and c-Met in isolated stromal cells and in intact tissue
We previously demonstrated that immunostaining of HGF and c-Met in the eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis was more intense than in that of control women (Khan et al., 2003). Furthermore, immunoreaction of HGF in the epithelium and stroma of eutopic endometrium derived from women with endometriosis was stronger than that of control women (Khan et al., 2003
). In the present study, we further confirmed the tissue localization of HGF and its receptor, c-Met, in isolated stromal cells (Figure 3b and c, respectively) and in intact tissue derived from the eutopic endometrium (Figure 3e and 3f, respectively) and ectopic endometrium (Figure 3h and i, respectively) of women with endometriosis. The corresponding negative controls, as shown by the immunoreaction to non-immune mouse IgG, are shown in Figure 3a, d and g. Although the data not shown, this immunoreaction of HGF and c-Met in the isolated stroma and intact tissue and as measured by the Q-H score was found to be stronger than that in similar cells or tissues of women without endometriosis. We did not find any significant variation in the immunoreaction of these markers between the proliferative and secretory phases of menstruation (data not shown). This indicates that HGF is being synthesized by stromal cells and that, after binding with c-Met, HGF may have an autocrine mode of action.
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mRNA expression of HGF and c-Met by IL-6 and TNFa-treated stromal cells
In order to determine if the regulation of HGF and its receptor, c-Met, also occurs at the transcriptional level, we examined HGF and c-Met mRNA expression in stromal cells derived from the eutopic endometrium of women with or without endometriosis and after single or combined treatment with IL-6 and TNF (Figure 4).
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The RTPCR of HGF, c-Met and -actin mRNAs gave rise to bands of 505, 536 and 300 bp, respectively (Figure 4). In women with endometriosis, HGF mRNA expression was found to be stronger in women with endometriosis than in women without endometriosis after single treatment with either IL-6 or TNF
(Figure 4A and B), and this expression of HGF mRNA was increased more after combined treatment with IL-6 and TNF
(Figure 4C). However, c-Met mRNA expression was found to increase in a dose-dependent manner, and this was observed equally for women with and without endometriosis (Figure 4A and B).
After densitometric analysis, a 2.0- to 2.5-fold increase in the expression of HGF mRNA in stromal cells was found in women with endometriosis after treatment with 10 ng/ml (P < 0.05) and 50 ng/ml (P < 0.05) of IL-6 or TNF (Figure 5A). A low level of expression of HGF mRNA was observed in women without endometriosis after similar treatment with IL-6 and TNF
(Figure 5A). However, these levels of HGF expression were greater than basal production or after treatment with either of the cytokines alone in women without endometriosis.
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The differences in the relative expression of HGF and c-Met mRNA between the stromal cells of women with and without endometriosis are shown in Figure 5. Like the increased secretion of HGF in the culture media shown in Figure 2A, mRNA expression of HGF and its receptor, c-Met, by the stromal cells of endometriosis was also significantly higher than that by non-endometriosis stromal cells (Figure 5A and B). The statistical differences between endometriosis and non-endometriosis are as follows: HGF mRNA, at 10 ng/ml and 50 ng/ml of IL-6 (P < 0.05 for both) and at 50 ng/ml of IL-6 + TNF, P < 0.05; c-Met mRNA, at 10 ng/ml each of IL-6 and TNF
, P < 0.05 for both; and at 50 ng/ml of IL-6 + TNF
, P < 0.05.
The production of HGF at both gene and protein levels under the present stimulation protocol was independent of either the proliferative phase or the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle (data not shown).
Effects of IL-6, TNFa and HGF on stromal cell proliferation
Since exogenous HGF stimulated maximum proliferation of endometrial epithelial cells and stromal cells at a concentration of 1050 ng/ml, as described recently in a dose-dependent study (Khan et al., 2005a), a cell proliferation study of stromal cells was carried out with 50 ng/ml of recombinant HGF in the present study. Again, the effect of exogenous IL-6 and TNF
on stromal cell proliferation occurred at a concentration of 10 ng/ml, because both IL-6 and TNF
stimulated peak HGF production in the culture medium at this concentration.
We found that single or combined treatment of stromal cells with exogenous IL-6, TNF and HGF was able to stimulate significant proliferation of stromal cells derived from the eutopic endometrium of women with and without endometriosis, as measured by BrdU incorporation (expressed as the fold increase and normalized to 0 control) (Figure 6A). We observed that after single treatment with either IL-6, TNF
or HGF, stromal cells derived from women without endometriosis were unable to significantly incorporate BrdU when compared with non-treated cells. However, stromal cells from women without endometriosis significantly proliferated after the combined treatment (IL-6 + HGF, P < 0.05 and TNF
+ HGF, P < 0.05; Figure 6A). In contrast, stromal cells derived from women with endometriosis were equally responsive to either single or combined treatment with IL-6, TNF
and HGF (TNF
, P < 0.05; HGF, P < 0.05; IL-6 + HGF, P < 0.05; TNF
+ HGF, P < 0.05; Figure 6A) when compared with non-treated cells. After parametric analysis, the differences in BrdU incorporation between endometriosis and non-endometriosis are as follows: HGF, P < 0.05; IL-6 + HGF, P < 0.05; TNF
+ HGF, P < 0.05 (Figure 6A).
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Since the BrdU incorporation study represents the simple incorporation of BrdU into the proliferated DNA of these cells and does not reflect the actual cell growth, as indicated by increased cell number, we also examined the cell growth of stroma by cell number (initial plating 105cells/ml per well and expressed as the fold increase normalized to 0 control) under IL-6, TNF and HGF stimulation (Figure 6B). We found parallel and significantly increased cell growth under a stimulation dose of 10 ng/ml of TNF
(P < 0.05), 50 ng/ml of HGF (P < 0.05) and the combined effect of IL-6 and HGF (P < 0.01) or TNF
and HGF (P < 0.01) for women with endometriosis, and under IL-6 + HGF (P < 0.05) or TNF
+ HGF (P < 0.05) for women without endometriosis (Figure 6B). The differences in cell growth between endometriosis and non-endometriosis are as follows: basal stroma, 34.0 ± 3.4 x 105 versus 23.7±1.9 x 105 cells/ml; P = 0.08; stromal cells treated with HGF, IL-6 + HGF and TNF
+ HGF, P < 0.05 for all (Figure 6B).
Finally, we attempted to confirm that the combined proliferative effect of IL-6 and HGF or TNF and HGF on stromal cells was partly contributed by HGF and not exclusively by IL-6 or TNF
, by using anti-HGF antibody to block the effect of exogenous HGF in the culture medium. We found that proliferation of stromal cells as induced by combined IL-6 and HGF or TNF
and HGF was partly or significantly inhibited after the depletion of HGF in the culture medium. This was observed in both the BrdU incorporation study (Figure 6A) and by cell growth as measured by the number of stromal cells (Figure 6B). In fact, anti-HGF antibody significantly inhibited cell growth mediated by IL-6 + HGF in women with and without endometriosis (P < 0.05 for both; Figure 6B). Although not shown, anti-HGF antibody had a tendency to suppress increased BrdU incorporation and cell number on TNF
treatment in the endometriosis (+) group. This indicates that the growth or persistence of endometrial and endometriotic tissues in the pelvic microenvironment is an orchestrated effect of different macromolecules, including HGF.
We also studied the exogenous effects of IL-6, TNF and HGF on stromal cells derived from ectopic endometrium of women with endometriosis (Figure 7). We found that BrdU incorporation into the stromal cells of peritoneal lesions (Figure 7A) and cell growth (Figure 7B) were higher in response to different cytokines when compared with similar cells of corresponding eutopic endometrium (2.0- to 4.5-fold and 1.5- to 3.5-fold, respectively). It was interesting to observe that stromal cells derived from eutopic endometrium of endometriosis was not responsive to IL-6 alone in increasing cell proliferation; however, single treatment with IL-6 resulted in significant proliferation of the stromal cells of ectopic endometrium (P < 0.05; Figure 7A and B). Again, depletion of HGF in the culture medium after pretreatment with anti-HGF antibody suppressed the IL-6 + HGF- or TNF
+ HGF-mediated increase in proliferation of stromal cells derived from ectopic endometrium. This further indicates that HGF may contribute to the growth of both eutopic and ectopic endometrial stromal cells.
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Like eutopic endometrium, the basal or treated stroma of ectopic endometrium did not show any difference in cell growth of between the phases of the menstrual cycle. When we compared the difference in stromal cell proliferation (both basal and treated) between eutopic and ectopic endometrium, we found the following statistical differences: IL-6, P < 0.05; IL-6 + HGF, P < 0.05 or TNF + HGF, P < 0.05 for both BrdU incorporation and cell growth (Figure 7A and B). It was also interesting to observe that IL-6 + HGF- and TNF
+ HGF-mediated cell proliferation and growth of ectopic endometrial stromal cells were more resistant to suppression than those of eutopic endometrium after application of anti-HGF antibody (Figure 7A and B).
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Discussion |
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We further demonstrated in the present study that the increased secretion of HGF in media conditioned by stromal cells and its corresponding immunolocalization in isolated stromal cells and in intact tissue paralleled with their increased transcriptional activity at the mRNA level of HGF and its receptor, c-Met, under the similar stimulation. There was a decreasing tendency of HGF secretion in the culture medium after application of antibody against IL-6 or TNF. In addition, IL-6- and TNF
-mediated stromal cell proliferation was also suppressed by anti-HGF antibody. This indicates that the production of HGF is mediated by either IL-6 or TNF
and that the growth-promoting effect of endometrial and endometriotic stromal cells may also be contributed by HGF itself in addition to IL-6 and TNF
.
Sugawara et al. (1997) previously reported significantly increased secretion of HGF by non-treated eutopic endometrial stromal cells in women with endometriosis compared with that in women without endometriosis. We also found an increasing tendency of HGF secretion by basal (non-treated) endometrial stromal cells derived from women with endometriosis compared with that from women without endometriosis. Although we expected a similarly significant difference between them, this elevation of HGF in the culture medium did not reach statistical significance. There are some reasons for the discrepancy of HGF secretion between these two studies. First, we cultured stromal cells for a period of 24 h instead of 48 h and in serum-free media, whereas Sugawara et al. (1997)
used 2.5% fetal bovine serum in their culture media. Secondly, the detection limit of HGF was 0.1 ng/ml (100 pg/ml) in their study and <40 pg/ml in our assay system. The intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation were both <10% for our assay. Irrespective of the difference in these two assay systems, we can at least postulate that endometrial stromal cells of endometriosis are biologically more active than those of non-endometriosis.
If we consider that pelvic endometriotic lesions are bathed in the peritoneal fluid, it is very logical to assume that peritoneal fluid enriched with different cytokines and growth factors, including HGF, IL-6 and TNF, could stimulate the growth and progression of endometriosis. In fact, different studies have demonstrated that peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis contains greater concentrations of HGF, IL-6 and TNF
than that of women without endometriosis (Harada et al., 2001
; Khan et al., 2002
). The origin of HGF, IL-6 and TNF
in the pelvic environment could be endometrial cells or mesothelial cells (Song et al., 2003
; Ishimaru et al., 2004
). In addition, the origin of these macromolecules could also be macrophages that have infiltrated into ectopic endometrium and corresponding eutopic endometrium (Khan et al., 2004b
).
HGF has diverse biological effects, ranging from cell mitosis, angiogenesis, migration and metaplastic transformation to invasion of cells into pelvic mesothelium. Therefore, we believe that the regulation of HGF by IL-6 and TNF in endometrial stromal cells has some biological significance. HGF could be involved in the regeneration of endometrium after menstruation by its mitogenic activity, or in the retrograde migration of menstrual debris by its mitogenic activity. Recently, Yoshida et al. (2004) demonstrated that the HGF/c-Met system plays a role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis by its cell invasion activity after regurgitated endometrial cells enter the pelvic microenvironment. In fact, we observed in the present study that HGF, alone or in combination with IL-6 or TNF
, was able to induce more proliferation of ectopic stromal cells when compared with eutopic stromal cells. This additional cell growth and cellular resistance to growth suppression by antibody against HGF in pelvic endometriotic lesions could be responsible for the persistence or progression of pelvic endometriosis.
The exact mechanism of this additional cell growth by ectopic stromal cells is unknown. However, according to some recent publications ectopic tissue differs from eutopic endometrium by its proliferation rate, steroid hormone levels and markers of apoptosis (McLaren et al., 1997; Beliard et al., 2004
). Therefore, our present findings of a greater increase in cell proliferation by ectopic stromal cells could be explained by increased sensitivity to proliferation and their resistance to apoptosis compared with similar cells of eutopic endometrium. This could promote the dissemination and implantation of these cells to ectopic sites. Despite this biological difference between ectopic and eutopic endometrium, we did not find any influence of the phase of the menstrual cycle in the proliferation of ectopic tissues.
The autocrine and paracrine regulation of HGF between cells of mesenchymal origin and epithelial cells or within the same endometriotic stromal cells has been reported in several studies (Yoshida et al., 2004; Khan et al., 2005a
). We also recently reported mRNA expression of HGF and its receptor, c-Met, in infiltrated macrophages derived from women with endometriosis and we established that there is an autocrine, paracrine or intracrine relationship among endometrial epithelial cells, stromal cells and infiltrated macrophages (Khan et al., 2005a
). However, information regarding the regulation of HGF by IL-6 and TNF
in endometrial stromal cells has been lacking.
An interaction between TNF and IL-6 with the consequent up-regulation of either the IL-6 or the IL-8 gene and protein and their involvement in the proliferation of endometriotic stromal cells derived from chocolate cyst has been reported (Iwabe et al., 2000
). However, there is no study on the regulation of HGF by IL-6 and TNF
in women with pelvic endometriosis. Therefore, we demonstrated for the first time, using endometrial stromal cells derived from women with pelvic endometriosis, that IL-6 and TNF
either alone or in combination can effectively induce the expression or production of HGF at both gene and protein levels.
In our recent study (Khan et al., 2005a) we reported that, as an initial inflammatory mediator, lipopolysaccharide could regulate the production of HGF by macrophages and that this could enhance the proliferation of endometrial epithelial cells, stromal cells and also infiltrated macrophages. We further demonstrated that exogenous HGF, either alone or in combination with IL-6 or TNF
, was able to significantly induce the proliferation of endometrial stromal cells derived from women with pelvic endometriosis. This mitogenic activity of HGF was higher in women with endometriosis than in women without endometriosis. Besides other cytokines and growth factors, the contribution of HGF in this enhanced proliferation of stromal cells was confirmed by the decreasing tendency of stromal cell proliferation after application of anti-HGF antibody.
We conclude that, in addition to its production by inflammatory cells or other mesenchymal cells, HGF may also be produced by endometrial stromal cells derived from women with pelvic endometriosis; its regulation can be mediated by IL-6 or TNF, which are constant components of peritoneal fluid in the pelvic microenvironment; and their orchestrated effect may be involved in the development of endometriosis.
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Acknowledgements |
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Submitted on December 9, 2004; resubmitted on May 9, 2005; accepted on May 19, 2005.
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