Increased annexin A2 and decreased β-catenin in adenomyosis contribute to adenomyosis-associated dysmenorrhea.

Objective: To investigate the expression of annexin A2 (ANXA2) and β-catenin in eutopic and ectopic endometrium, and their relationships with adenomyosis-associated dysmenorrhea.

Methods: From December 2013 to June 2014, ectopic endometrium (n=30) and eutopic endometrium (n=30) of adenomyosis were collected as experimental group, and endometrium (n=30) of uterine myoma as control group from the department of gynecology and obstetrics, the affiliated hospital of Inner Mongolia medical university. The expression of ANXA2 and β-catenin was detected by immunohistochemical S-P method, followed by the Pearson correlations for the correlation analysis of ANXA2 and β-catenin with adenomyosis-associated dysmenorrhea. Meanwhile, the levels of preoperative serum ANXA2 of patients with adenomyosis (n=42) and uterine myoma (n=42) were also measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results: Immunohistochemistry and ELISA identified a higher expression of ANXA2 in eutopic and ectopic endometrium of adenomysis tissues, whereas β-catenin protein was down-regulated. Furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between ANXA2 expression and dysmenorrhea degree, while there was a negative linear correlation between β-catenin expression and dysmenorrhea degree in ectopic endometrium.

Conclusion: These results suggested that increased ANXA2 and less expressed β-catenin were correlated to adenomyosis-associated dysmenorrhea. It may provide a new idea of diagnosis and treatment to adenomyosis-associated dysmenorrhea.