Relevance of Bcl-x expression in different types of endometrial tissues

Objectives. to explore the roles of bcl-xl and bcl-xs in the development and progression of endometrial carcinoma,and to analyze the correlation between bcl-xl and bcl-xs. methods. rt-pcr and western-blot assay were applied to detect the expressions of bcl-xl and bcl-xs in endometrial tissues of various histomorphologic types. results. the bcl-xl expression levels of simple and atypical hyperplasia endometrial tissues were not significantly different from that of normal endometrial tissue (both p > 0.05). on contrary,bcl-xl expression in endometrial carcinoma tissue was significantly higher than the normal endometrial tissue (p = 0.00),which was correlated with the pathological grading of endometrial carcinoma (f = 5.33,p = 0.02). in addition,bcl-xs mrna level in simple hyperplasia endometrial tissue had no significant difference compared to that in normal endometrial tissue (p = 0.12),while the levels of atypical hyperplasia and endometrial carcinoma endometrial tissues were significantly different from the normal endometrial tissue (both p = 0.00). furthermore,level of bcl-xs mrna was correlated with the clinical staging and lymph node metastasis of the endometrial carcinoma (p < 0.05). the expressions of bcl-xl and bcl-xs were negatively correlated with each other (r = -0.76). conclusion. the abnormal expressions of bcl-xs and bcl-xl were one of the molecular mechanisms for the pathogenesis of endometrial carcinoma,and altered ratio between these two might involve in the onset of endometrial carcinoma. © 2010 ma et al; licensee biomed central ltd.