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Adenomyosis-derived extracellular vesicles endow endometrial epithelial cells with an invasive phenotype through epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Adenomyosis-derived extracellular vesicles endow endometrial epithelial cells with an invasive phenotype through epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Dayong Chen
Hai Qiao
Yiting Wang
Ling Zhou
Na Yin
Liaoqiong Fang
Zhibiao Wang
Genes & Diseases第7卷, 第4期pp.636-648纸质出版 2020-12-01在线发表 2020-01-23
205801

Extracellular vesicles from highly metastatic tumor cells have been shown to mediate epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related events in recipient cells. In endometrial epithelial cells, EMT processes are known to be involved in the development of adenomyosis. We aimed to investigate whether adenomyosis-derived extracellular vesicles (AMEVs) are able to induce an EMT process in endometrial epithelial cells. In this study, AMEVs were isolated from patients with adenomyosis and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Western blot, and nanoparticle tracking. Primary endometrial epithelial cells (EECs) were derived from normal endometrium tissues from patients with leiomyoma and co-cultured with AMEVs in vitro. AMEV uptake was examined by fluorescence confocal microscopy. The invasion of EECs was confirmed by Transwell assay. Immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and qRT-PCR were performed on EECs to illustrate the expression levels of cytokeratin 19, E-cadherin, vimentin, and zinc finger E-boxbinding homeobox 1 (ZEB1). The results indicated that the cellular fluorescence intensity gradually increased after 48 h of co-culture, but decreased after 72 h. After co-culturing with AMEVs for 72 h, EECs expressed significantly lower levels of cytokeratin 19 and E-cadherin, and significantly higher levels of vimentin and ZEB1. Together these results demonstrated that AMEVs induce an EMT process and enhance the invasion of EECs. These changes may contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of adenomyosis.

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AdenomyosisEpithelial-mesenchymal transitionExtracellular vesiclesPrimary endometrial epithelial cellsPathogenesis