Analysis of the methylation profiles of the steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) gene in peritoneal and ovarian endometriosis

Endometriosis is a disease characterized by implantation of endometrial-like tissues outside the uterus. Until now, its pathogenesis of remains unclear. Previous studies have suggested a possible role of epigenetics in endometriosis. The purpose of this study was to analyze the methylation profile of the SF-1 gene in peritoneal and ovarian endometriosis. This gene has a role in the synthesis of steroid hormones, which are thought to participate in development of the disease. This study used nine samples of ovarian endometrial tissues, five samples of peritoneal endometrial tissues and nine controls. Endometrial tissues were obtained from patients undergoing endometriosis surgery and controls were from patients undergoing microcurretage before in vitro fertilization. DNA from the samples were isolated, treated with sodium bisulfite, and then analyzed by methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. Statistical analysis used to obtain conclusion was a Kruskal-Wallis test and followed by post hoc analysis with a Mann-Whitney U test. There is a significant difference between ovarian endometriosis, peritoneal endometriosis and controls with p < 0.001. We further discovered a significant difference between control and peritoneal endometriosis (p = 0.001) and between ovarian and peritoneal endometriosis (p = 0.008). There was no significant difference between control and ovarian endometriosis (p = 0.730). Our results suggest that changes in methylation profile of the SF-1 gene may be associated with the development of peritoneal endometriosis. The difference in methylation profiles of ovarian and peritoneal endometriosis might reflect different pathogenic mechanisms for both type of diseases.