Running title: Endometriosis-specific miRNA modulation

Endometriosis is the hormone-dependent presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) were shown to play a role in endometriotic lesion development. However, the mechanism of steroid hormones responsible for miRNA remains obscure. In the present study, we assayed for the effects of synthetic steroid hormones (danazol, progesterone, and medroxyprogesterone acetate [MPA]) on miRNAs in endometriosis. We used a global miRNA expression profile microarray to evaluate miRNA expression in endometrial mesenchymal stem cells (EN-MSCs) of ovarian endometrioma following treatment with 1 μM of danazol, progesterone, or MPA. Further, we selected candidate miRNAs whose expression changed more than five-fold and compared the effects among danazol, progesterone, and MPA and also compared those results with controls in EN-MSCs. Among those with a five-fold change, we found 13 ectopically upregulated miRNAs in EN-MSCs. To understand the function of these 13 miRNAs, we subjected their sequences to Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. According to both the etiology and pathogenesis of endometriosis, we found that miR-199a-5p and