Antioxidant Enzymes in Endometriosis

Association between Genetic Variants of Antioxidant Enzymes and Severity of Endometriosis

Key Points

Highlight:

• Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), an enzyme that protects cells against oxidative stress, might contribute to the pathogenesis of endometriosis.

Background:

• Oxidative stress may play a role in the development of endometriosis. including glutathione peroxidase (GPX), a major enzyme in removing various ROS.
• There is a different expression of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) between eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues.
• Currently, it is now known whether the genetic polymorphisms of these oxidative stress enzymes play a role in the development of endometriosis.

Key points:

• A total of 220 women participated in this study to compare the genetic variation of three antioxidant enzymes, GPX4, TXN2, and TXNRD1.
• There was a significant difference for GPX4 for endometriosis and control groups and between the early and advanced stages of endometriosis.

Limitations:

• It is uncertain that the members of the control group were totally disease-free.

Lay Summary

Recent attention has been focused on the effect of oxidative stress in the development of endometriosis. Especially, there are several studies regarding glutathione peroxidase (GPX), a major enzyme in removing various reactive oxygen species. In the field of infertility, the role of oxidative stress in recurrent miscarriages with unknown etiology has been investigated. The expression of glutathione peroxidase between eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues is also different.

Though several studies suggest the importance of GPX in endometriosis, it is currently unknown whether the genetic polymorphisms of the oxidative stress enzymes play a role in the development of endometriosis. In this paper, Dr. Lee group compared the genetic variants of three different oxidative stress enzymes including glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), and their impact on endometriosis. This paper was recently published in the "International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health”.

A total of 220 women participated in this study. To identify whether there is any difference in allele frequency between endometriosis and control patients, they compared the genetic variation of three antioxidant enzymes. They found a significant difference in GPX4 between endometriosis and control groups and between the early and advanced stages of endometriosis groups.

This result implies that the genetic polymorphism of the GPX4 gene likely contributes to the pathogenesis of endometriosis. To better understand its roles in the development of endometriosis, further research with larger clinical samples is necessary.

Research Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32679649/