The expression of LDL receptors on the cell membrane of deep peritoneal endometriosis for enabling the use of nanoemulsion lipid carrier of anti-proliferative drug

• Grant number: 11/17245-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: December 01, 2011
• End date: November 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Maternal and Child Health
• Principal Investigator: Sérgio Podgaec
• Grantee: Sérgio Podgaec
• Host Institution: Instituto do Coração Professor Euryclides de Jesus Zerbini (INCOR). Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Maurício Simões Abrão ; Raul Cavalcante Maranhao

Abstract

The deep endometriosis is a major cause of pelvic pain and infertility in women and with his characteristic ability to proliferation and infiltration of tissues, cause adhesions to adjacent organs and deformities in organs and also has strong similarities with neoplastic disease, the presence of growth factors and cytokines associated with the regulation of cell proliferation and angiogenesis. In another line of research has demonstrated that some solid tumors have a higher consumption and need for cholesterol for membrane synthesis in tumor growth and cell division and also in the process of neoplastic transformation of the cell. It is also known that the number of LDL receptors on the cell surface is heavily regulated, able to maintain intracellular cholesterol concentration relatively constant. Considering these concepts, we developed the ability to coupling of chemotherapy drugs inside lipid emulsion similar to LDL molecule in order to direct the drug to the target tissue by increasing the therapeutic effect and reducing damage to healthy tissue. This study aims to identify whether the LDL receptor (LDL-R and LRP-1) are over-expressed in the cell membrane of deep endometriosis compared to endometrium and adjacent peritoneum, by immunohistochemistry and gene expression, to further facilitate the coupling anti-proliferative drug for clinical treatment of deep endometriosis. (AU)