Decreased expression of estrogen receptors alpha and beta in peripheral blood lymphocytes from the endometrial cancer patients and women with endometriosis

Aim: Endometriosis and endometrial cancer are described as typical estrogen-dependent gynaecological diseases. The question arises if estrogens, working through their receptors, could influence the immunological activity of lymphocytes in these disorders. Here, we evaluated transcriptional expression of the estrogen receptors alpha and beta (ER alpha and ER beta) in T lymphocytes isolated from the peripheral blood in endometrial cancer and endometriosis patients. Methods: Peripheral blood was collected from ten patients with endometrial cancer, nine with endometriosis, and ten disease-free controls. After isolation of the T lymphocytes, purity was confirmed by flow cytometry and the relative level of ER alpha and ER beta mRNA was determined using RT-qPCR analysis. Results: Both ER alpha and ER beta were significantly decreased in T lymphocytes isolated from patients with either endometrial cancer or endometriosis when compared to the healthy controls. We measured no difference in the mRNA levels of ER alpha between endometrial cancer patients and endometriosis group, but ER beta expression in endometrial cancer women was twice as high than in the endometriosis group. Conclusion: Decreased transcription of nuclear estrogen receptor isoforms characterizes T lymphocytes from women with endometrial cancer and endometriosis.