Dysmenorrhea and its severity are associated with increased uterine contractility and overexpression of oxytocin receptor (OTR) in women with symptomatic adenomyosis.

To evaluate uterine contractility, oxytocin receptor (OTR) expression in myometrial smooth muscle cells (MSMCs) derived from uterine tissues from women with and without adenomyosis correlate OTR expression with uterine contractility and dysmenorrhea severity, and see whether trichostatin A (TSA) and andrographolide inhibit OTR expression. Laboratory study using human tissues. Academic hospital. Twenty patients (cases) with histologically confirmed adenomyosis and 10 (controls) with leiomyomas, cervical dysplasia, and cancer but no adenomyosis or endometriosis. Dysmenorrhea severity was scored by Visual Analog Scale. Uterine tissue samples were collected during hysterectomy. Myometrial smooth muscle cells derived from tissue samples were cultured and OTR protein levels were measured. The effect of TSA (0.5 or 1 μM) and andrographolide (15 or 30 μM) on OTR expression was evaluated. Visual Analog Scale scores, and contractile amplitude and frequency. The OTR protein levels in MSMCs were quantified by Western blot analysis. The contractile amplitude and OTR expression levels were significantly higher in cases than in controls. Dysmenorrhea Visual Analog Scale scores correlated positively with contractile amplitude and OTR expression level. Both TSA and andrographolide dose-dependently inhibit OTR expression in MSMC. Oxytocin receptor overexpression in MSMCs may be responsible for increased uterine contractility and adenomyosis-associated dysmenorrhea. Both histone deacetylase inhibitors and andrographolide are therapeutically promising.

Guo SW ，Mao X ，Ma Q ，Liu X ... -  《-》

Oxytocin receptor expression in smooth muscle cells of peritoneal endometriotic lesions and ovarian endometriotic cysts.

Mechsner S ，Bartley J ，Loddenkemper C ，Salomon DS ，Starzinski-Powitz A ，Ebert AD ... -  《FERTILITY AND STERILITY》

Immunoreactivity of oxytocin receptor and transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 and its correlation with dysmenorrhea in adenomyosis.

We sought to investigate the expression and localization of oxytocin receptor (OTR) and transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) in women with and without adenomyosis. Ectopic and homologous eutopic endometrium from 50 women with adenomyosis and endometrium from 18 women without adenomyosis were used for immunohistochemical analysis of OTR and TRPV1. Microscopic evaluation assessed the presence and localization of OTR and TRPV1 throughout the menstrual cycle in both eutopic endometrial and endometriotic tissues of women with adenomyosis and compared them with normal endometrium. Compared with normal endometrium, immunoreactivity of OTR and TRPV1 were significantly increased in ectopic endometrium. Both OTR and TRPV1 immunoreactivity were positively correlated with the severity of dysmenorrhea and found to be significant predicators for dysmenorrhea severity. These findings suggest that OTR and TRPV1 may be involved in dysmenorrhea and its severity in adenomyosis and may be potential therapeutic targets.

Nie J ，Liu X ，Guo SW 《-》

Possible roles of oxytocin receptor and vasopressin-1α receptor in the pathomechanism of dysperistalsis and dysmenorrhea in patients with adenomyosis uteri.

To investigate the expression of oxytocin (OTR) and/or vasopressin (VP1αR) receptor in patients with and without adenomyosis uteri. Retrospective nonrandomized study. University hospital endometriosis research center. Forty patients with histologically proven adenomyosis and 40 patients without adenomyosis who had undergone hysterectomy for dysmenorrhea, bleeding disorders, and fibroids. Immunohistochemical examination of both OTR and VP1αR expression in endometrium, myometrium, and adenomyotic lesions, and identification of smooth muscle cells using antibodies against OTR, VP1αR, and smooth muscle actin (sm-actin). The immunoreactive score (IRS) was used for expression of OTR, VP1αR, and sm-actin. Expression of OTR in epithelial cells of adenomyotic lesions and surrounding myometrial cells was detectable. VP1αR was expressed only in myometrial cells and blood vessels. Using a specific anti-sm-actin antibody, another spindle cell population was characterized to represent smooth muscle cells which are in direct contact with the adenomyotic stroma. Compared with the unaffected myometrium, the surrounding adenomyosis-associated myometrium overexpressed OTR and showed changes in morphology. In the uteri of patients with adenomyosis, the junctional zone was often seen to be quite fissured. In addition to the specific expression of VP1αR, OTR expression and morphologic changes in the myometrial architecture of uteri having adenomyosis support the hypothesis that dysperistalsis plays an essential role in the development of endometriosis and dysmenorrhea. In the near future, specific inhibition of this receptor might yield a promising treatment for therapy.

Mechsner S ，Grum B ，Gericke C ，Loddenkemper C ，Dudenhausen JW ，Ebert AD ... -  《-》

The abnormal expression of oxytocin receptors in the uterine junctional zone in women with endometriosis.

Huang M ，Li X ，Guo P ，Yu Z ，Xu Y ，Wei Z ... -  《Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology》