Authors

Guillaume E. Courtoy, M.Sc., Jacques Donnez, M.D., Ph.D., Etienne Marbaix, M.D., Ph.D., Marie-Madeleine Dolmans, M.D., Ph.D.

Volume 104, Issue 2, Pages 426-434

Abstract

Objective:

To study the in vivo mechanisms of action of ulipristal acetate (UPA) on uterine myomas.

Design:

Retrospective histologic and immunohistochemical (IHC) study of myomas.

Setting:

Academic research unit.

Patient(s):

Among 59 women with symptomatic myomas who underwent myomectomy, 42 were treated preoperatively with UPA, while 17 were not.

Intervention(s):

Histology and IHC were analyzed on tissue microarrays obtained from surgical specimens.

Main Outcome Measure(s):

Proliferation, apoptosis, extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) expression.

Result(s):

Proliferation was low in all conditions, with no statistical difference between groups. Terminal deoxynucleotide transferase–mediated dUTP nick-end labeling assay showed an increase in cell death in UPA-treated myomas compared with untreated myomas, but only after short-term treatment; this was not associated with elevated levels of cleaved caspase-3. After long-term treatment, cell density was higher and the ECM volume fraction lower in UPA-treated myomas than in untreated myomas. MMP-2 expression was found to be increased after treatment, showing the highest level after long-term treatment, compared with untreated myomas.

Conclusion(s):

Regarding sustained clinical volume reduction of myomas, this study strongly points to multifactorial mechanisms of action of UPA, involving: 1) a persistently low cell proliferation rate; 2) a limited period of cell death; and 3) ECM remodeling concomitant with stimulation of MMP-2 expression.

Read the full text at: http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(15)00299-X/fulltext