The role of adipokines in leiomyomas development

Exp Mol Pathol. 2021 Oct 9:104693. doi: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2021.104693. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTINTRODUCTION: Many women of premenopausal age suffer from uterine leiomyomas, which are benign tumors of the uterus. Despite the high prevalence of uterine leiomyomas underlying pathogenesis mechanisms are not fully elucidated. Early data showed a positive correlation between increased levels of adipose tissue and leiomyomas prevalence. Adipose tissue cells-adipocytes can play a potential role in leiomyomas formation by producing and secreting adipokines.AIM: The aim of this study is to summarize the current knowledge on the potential relation between adipokines and leiomyomas basing on current data analyze, and justify future research directions.METHODOLOGY: This review is based on pertinent articles searched using PubMed, encompassing all available literature. The key search words were as follows: adipokines, leiomyoma, TNFα, leptin, adiponectin, visfatin, resistin, omentin, lipocalin, apelin, adipsin, chemerin. Time was not an exclusion criterium due to few available studies on this subject.SUMMARY: The results of the studies are inconclusive, but the vast majority indicates a significant connection between the adipokines and the leiomyomas. According to the majority of studies, TNFα contributes to the development of leiomyomas by inhibiting apoptosis, increasing migration of leiomyomas, and increasing fibrosis of leiomyomas. Most of the studies on the effects of leptin als...
Source: Experimental and Molecular Pathology - Category: Pathology Authors: Source Type: research