CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha is epigenetically silenced by histone acetylation in endometriosis and promotes the pathogenesis of endometriosis: a novel therapeutic target

Accumulating evidences suggest that various epigenetic aberrations play definite roles in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. The aim of this study is to identify 1) the panel of aberrantly expressed genes that are epigenetically suppressed by histone acetylation in endometriosis; 2) the roles of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) alpha, one of the candidate molecules whose expression was epigenetically repressed in endometriotic cyst stromal cells (ECSCs), in the pathogenesis of endometriosis; and 3) the efficacy of the histone deacetylase inhibitors for the treatment of endometriosis. Subconfluent ECSCs cultured in 10-cm dish were further incubated for 72 h with or without VPA (8 mM) and/or 5aza. Total RNA from untreated ECSCs (n=4), VPA-treated ECSCs (n=4), 5aza-treated ECSCs (n=4), and VPA- and 5aza-treated ECSCs (n=4) was extracted and subjected to gene expression microarray analysis.