The Characterization of DICER-1 and AGO-2 in Eutopic and Ectopic Endometrium in the Olive Baboon (Papio Anubis) Inoculated with Endometriosis

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Authors
Janowiak, Eric M.
Issue Date
2018
Type
Thesis
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en_US
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Abstract
Endometriosis is a gynecological disease that is characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. This disease causes chronic inflammation, intense pain, and in many instances leads to infertility among women. The pathogenesis of endometriosis is still unknown, yet one of the most widely accepted theories is Sampson’s theory of retrograde menstruation. However, retrograde menstruation occurs in nearly all women, yet endometriosis is only diagnosed in 10%. This discrepancy leads us to believe that there are additional mechanisms that aid in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. MicroRNA had been shown to play critical roles in many gynecological disorders including endometriosis, thus, this study aims to determine the expression profiles of the mechanistic proteins (AGO-2 and Dicer-1) behind microRNA biogenesis. We analyzed the eutopic and ectopic endometrium of baboons (Papio anubis) using immunohistochemistry and H-score analysis. The results revealed aberrant levels of AGO-2 protein in glandular endometrial cells between tissue types. The role AGO-2 has in microRNA biogenesis, in context with our results, suggest that AGO-2 plays a critical part in the expression of genes involved with apoptosis and other responses associated with endometriosis, likely contributing to the pathophysiology of the disease. Our results for Dicer-1 were inconclusive.
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iii, 35 p.
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Kalamazoo College
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U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
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