A COMPARISON OF CATHEPSIN-D LEVELS IN ENDOMETRIOTIC TISSUE AND IN UTERINE ENDOMETRIUM

Objective: To assay the cathepsin D level in endometriotic tissue, to study the difference to uterine endometrium and the correlation to loc alization. Design: Prospective consecutive study on endometriotic tiss ue and endometrium.Setting: University clinic. Patients: Thirty-five w omen undergoing laparotomy for clinical indications. Interventions: Sa mples of endometriotic tissue and uterine endometrium were obtained si multaneously from the same woman at laparotomy, fresh frozen, and assa yed using an immunoradiometric method. Main Outcome Measure: The cathe psin D level in endometrium and endometriotic tissue expressed in pmol /mg DNA. Results: The cathepsin D level was significantly higher in en dometriotic tissue than in endometrium both in follicular and luteal p hase. The highest values in endometriotic tissue were found in luteal phase, in ovarian lesions, and in primary lesions. In endometrium, but not in endometriotic tissue, there was a positive correlation between cathepsin D level and serum E(2) level. Conclusion: The level of the proteolytic enzyme cathepsin D is significantly higher in endometrioti c tissue than in endometrium, which might be of importance for implant ation and the invasive growth of endometriotic tissue.