Clinical Study Gene Expression of Leptin and Long Leptin Receptor Isoform in Endometriosis: A Case-Control Study

Copyright © 2013 Andrea Prestes Nácul et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In this study, leptin/BMI ratio in serum and peritoneal fluid and gene expression of leptin and long form leptin receptor (OB-RL) were assessed in eutopic and ectopic endometria of women with endometriosis and controls. Increased serum leptin/BMI ratio was found in endometriosis patients. Leptin and OB-RL gene expression was significantly higher in ectopic versus eutopic endometrium of patients and controls. A positive, significant correlation was observed between leptin and OB-RL transcripts in ectopic endometria and also in eutopic endometria in endometriosis and control groups. A negative and significant correlation was found between OB-RL mRNA expression and peritoneal fluid leptin/BMI ratio only in endometriosis. These data suggest that, through a modulatory interaction with its active receptor, leptin might play a role in the development of endometrial implants. 1