Fertility and Sterility
Volume 94, Issue 5 , Pages 1583-1588, October 2010

Reduced expression and concomitant promoter hypermethylation of HOXA10 in endometrium from women wearing intrauterine devices

  • Yuan Lu, M.D., Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Gynecology, Shanghai OB/GYN Hospital, and Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Shanghai Medical School, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
    • ,
  • Jichan Nie, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Gynecology, Shanghai OB/GYN Hospital, and Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Shanghai Medical School, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
    • ,
  • Xishi Liu, M.D., Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Gynecology, Shanghai OB/GYN Hospital, and Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Shanghai Medical School, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
    • ,
  • Sun-Wei Guo, Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Renji Hospital, and the Institute of Obstetric and Gynecologic Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Sun-Wei Guo, Ph.D., Institute of Obstetric and Gynecologic Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, 145 Shandong Zhong Road, Shanghai 200001, People’s Republic of China (FAX: 86-21-5388-2377).

Received 10 July 2009; received in revised form 7 September 2009; accepted 10 September 2009. published online 02 November 2009.

Objective

To determine whether prolonged intrauterine device (IUD) usage is associated with decreased HOXA10 expression and increased methylation in the endometrium.

Design

Observational study.

Patient(s)

Women wearing IUDs and not wearing IUDs.

Intervention(s)

Immunohistochemistry of HOXA10 and methylation-specific PCR.

Main Outcome Measure(s)

Endometrial HOXA10 expression levels and methylation frequency.

Result(s)

The IUD usage was associated with decreased endometrial HOXA10 expression, concordant with higher frequency of HOXA10 promoter hypermethylation. The HOXA10 hypermethylation was associated with the duration of IUD usage, irrespective age, gravidity, parity, and IUD type.

Conclusion(s)

Prolonged IUD use may induce endometrial HOXA10 hypermethylation and reduced expression. These results suggest a possible novel mode of action for IUD, a possibility to rectify the aberrant methylation through pharmacologic means, and a possible noninvasive way for detection of aberrant methylation at HOXA10.

Key Words: Contraception, endometrium, expression, HOXA10, IUD, methylation

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 Y.L. has nothing to disclose. J.N. has nothing to disclose. X.L. has nothing to disclose. S.-W.G. has nothing to disclose.

 Yuan Lu and Jichan Nie contributed equally to this article.

 Supported by grants C03030401/30700903 (Y.L.) and 30872759 (S.-W.G.) from the National Science Foundation of China, and the Pujian Project and grant 074119517 from the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission (S.-W.G.).

PII: S0015-0282(09)03690-5

doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.09.011

Fertility and Sterility
Volume 94, Issue 5 , Pages 1583-1588, October 2010

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