Overexpression and Functional Relevance of Somatostatin Receptor-1, -2, and -5 in Endometrium and Endometriotic Lesions

Context: Somatostatin plays a role in physiological and pathological cell proliferation and angiogenesis. Five subtypes of somatostatin receptors have been identified, and the therapeutic use of somatostatin receptor-selective agonists has been reported in several diseases. Objectives: The aim was to describe the expression and the functional relevance of three human somatostatin receptors (sst1, sst2, and sst5) in tissues of women with and without endometriosis. Patients and Methods: This pilot study analyzed endometrium, ovarian endometriomata, and peritoneal lesions in 15 patients affected by endometriosis and the endometrium of five women without endometriosis. 111In-pentetreotide scintigraphy was used to detect endometriotic lesions; real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry for sst1, sst2, and sst5 were performed. Migration and proliferation assays were performed on human endometrial stromal cells (ESC) treated with somatostatin and octreotide for 48 h. Results: 111In-pentetreotide scintigraphy was ...