Abstract:

Objective To explore the effect and mechanism of hypoxia in regulating macrophage polariza⁃ tion through upregulating hypoxia inducible factor⁃1α（HIF⁃1α）in endometriosis. Methods The ectopic endome⁃ triotic lesions of patients with endometriosis（endometriosis group，n = 17）and normal endometrium of patients without endometriosis（control group，n = 20）from January 2021 to December 2021 were collected. The distribu⁃ tions of macrophages in ectopic lesions and normal endometrium were detected by double immunofluorescence，and the hypoxic conditions were detected by immunohistochemistry. After treated with hypoxia，we detected the level of HIF⁃1α and the expression of specific markers of M1 and M2 macrophages by RT⁃qPCR in THP⁃1 cells. Results The density of macrophages in ectopic lesions of endometriosis was higher than that of normal endometrium. The density of both M1 and M2 macrophages are increased in endometriosis，but M2 macrophages are the mainly type macrophages in the lesions（P < 0.05）. The degree of hypoxia in ectopic lesions was higher than that of normal eutopic endometrium（P < 0.05）. Hypoxia could induce macrophages to transform into M2 macrophages through upregulating HIF⁃1α（P < 0.05）. Conclusions Hypoxia regulates the polarization of macrophages in endometriosis through upregulating HIF⁃1α.

Key words:

endometriosis, macrophage polarization, hypoxia, HIF?1α