Increased secretion of hepatocyte growth factor by eutopic endometrial stromal cells in women with endometriosis

Objective: We evaluated the secretion of hepatocyte growth factor by eutopic endometrial stromal cells in vitro. Design: Eutopic endometrial stromal cells were isolated and the culture supernatants were collected after 48 hours of incubation. The secretion of hepatocyte growth factor was analyzed by ELISA. Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Tohoku University Hospital. Patient(s): Specimens of endometrium in the proliferative phase were excised from 11 patients who were undergoing laparoscopy for infertility. Six of the patients had endometriosis and five did not. None of the patients had received hormonal treatment before surgery. Result(s): Hepatocyte growth factor secretion was found to be increased significantly in cultured endometrial stromal cells from the infertile patients with endometriosis compared with those without endometriosis. Conclusion(s): The secretion of hepatocyte growth factor was up-regulated in eutopic endometrial stromal cells from patients with endometriosis. An increase in hepatocyte growth factor production may be characteristic of endometriosis and may be involved in the pathophysiology of this disease.