Histochemical and immunohistochemical characterization of endometrial fibrotic changes in endometrosis of mares

• Grant number: 14/15014-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2015
• End date: February 29, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Julio Lopes Sequeira
• Grantee: Julio Lopes Sequeira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Marco Antonio Alvarenga

Abstract

The endometrosis is a degenerative change of the uterine glands and surrounding stroma, associated with age and directly associated with fertility problems in mares. During the development of these processes, the fibroblasts express several muscle differentiation factors, such as alpha-smooth muscle actin (±-SMA), being identified as myofibroblasts. The significant presence of myofibroblasts in active fibrosis is probably related to the replacement of the endometrial fibrillar collagen by dense collagen. However, the etiology and pathogenesis of endometrosis are still unknown. This study aims to evaluate the endometrosis by immunohistochemical staining of ±-SMA and collagen type I, III and IV, as well as by Masson Trichrome staining and Picrosirius Red under polarized light, following the study proposed by Hoffmann et al. (2009) about the endometrial fibrosis development and trying to clarify the involvement of myofibroblasts in the progression of these processes. (AU)