Abstract:
Endometriosis is a benign gynecologic disease, but it is similar in
behavior to malignant tumors, so it is called “benign gynecologic
cancer”. At present, its pathogenesis is not fully understand.
Autophagy has been the focus of recent research on various diseases,
which has also been shown to have regulatory abnormalities in
endometriosis. TFEB is a key regulator of autophagy. The upstream signal
molecules and downstream effector proteins of TFEB have abnormal
expression in endometriosis. So TFEB may be an effective target for
controlling the development of endometriosis. This review aims to
discuss the relationship between TFEB and endometriosis.
Keywords :autophagy, endometriosis, TFEB, ROS.
Introduction :
Endometriosis, defined as the presence of endometrial tissue outside the
uterine cavity, is a benign chronic gynecological disorder. It is a
common and estrogen-dependent gynecological disease that affects 10% of
reproductive-aged women, mainly cause chronic pelvic pain and
infertility.(1) There are many theories about the pathogenesis of
endometriosis, such as coelomic epithelial metaplasia, immune defense
deficiency and menstrual reflux. However, the exact physiopathology of
endometriosis is unclear until now.(2)
Recent studies revealed that autophagy also plays an indispensable role
in the physiological and pathophysiological processes related to
endometriosis.(3) Autophagy is a process that includes subcellular
membranes encapsulate cytoplasmic components, form autophagosomes and
then fuse with lysosomes to form autolysosomes for degrading the
contents.(4) It is a self-renewal pathway of cells that degrades damaged
macromolecules and organelles to maintain cell metabolism and improve
cell function. During autophagy, the metabolic wastes are selectively
identified and isolated in double-membrane vesicles called
autophagosomes, which are subsequently fused with acidic lysosomes
containing hydrolases used for cargo degradation.(5) Autophagy could be
induced by the nutrient depletion, oxidative stress, or other harmful
conditions. Many pathological conditions such as cancer(6) and
neurodegenerative diseases(7) are associated with the dysfunction of
this process. Therefore, it is crucial for us to study the cellular
autophagy-lysosomal on the pathogenesis as well as therapeutics of
disorders.
TFEB, the member of the basic helix-loop-helix leucine-zipper family of
transcription factors, has been identified as a master regulator of
autophagic flux via inducing lysosome biogenesis and promoting
autophagosome formation as well as its fusion with lysosome.(8-10)
Several studies confirmed that the important role of TFEB in
neurodegenerative(11) and renal cell carcinoma.(12) However, the role of
TFEB in endometriosis hasn’t be studied. This paper reviews the
regulation mechanism of TFEB, and discusses its impact on the occurrence
and development of endometriosis.