COMT polymorphism and the risk of endometriosis-related infertility

Abstract

Estrogens are important factors in the development of endometriosis, and can induce cell proliferation and stimulate cell division. COMT constitutes a crucial element in estrogen metabolism and has been suggested to be involved in the development of endometriosis. This study had the objective of to determine whether the presence of COMT val/met polymorphism (rs4680) increases the risk to endometriosis in infertile patients. A case–control study that included 198 infertile women with endometriosis, 71 infertile women without endometriosis, and 168 fertile women as control group of the Faculdade de Medicina do ABC. COMT (val/met) genotypes were identified by real time PCR (genotyping TaqMan assay) and the results were analyzed statistically by χ² test. The data showed no statistical difference in the distribution of COMT genotypes neither between infertile patients with endometriosis and control group (p = 0.567), regardless disease degree, nor between infertile patients without endometriosis and control group (p = 0.460). In conclusion, the COMT val/met polymorphism is not associated to endometriosis-related infertility in the Brazilian population evaluated. However, more studies in larger populations are necessary to confirm these results.

Keywords:

• Endometriosis
• infertility
• polymorphism
• estrogen hormone
• COMT

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Raqueila Gonçalves Bernardino for processing samples and FAPESP for Juliana S. Teles student scholarship (FAPESP No. 2009/01960-2).

Declaration of interest:

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.