Endometriosis of the Cervix: A Rare Clinical Case with the Possibility of Comparing the Eutopic and Ectopic Endometrium at the Cellular Level

Endometriosis of the cervix is a rare form of genital endometriosis, which is characterized by the appearance of tissue on the vaginal part of the cervix, similar to the tissue of the mucous membrane of the uterine cavity. We describe a clinical case in which we compared the content of cytoskeletal proteins, H3 histone modifications and DNA methylation (total and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine content) in the eutopic endometrium and in tissue from endometriosis foci on the cervix. The patient had elevated levels of estradiol, interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-8. At the cellular level, the content of tubulin and the marker of stable microtubules were reduced in the ectopic endometrium (by 45% and 37%, p < 0.05, respectively), but the alpha-actinin-1 content was increased (by 75%, p < 0.05) with an increase in the expression of its gene. At the same time, the total level of DNA methylation in the endometriotic focus was reduced by more than 2 times with the accumulation of the intermediate product 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (the content increased by more than 3 times), probably due to an increase in the content of tet methylcytosine dioxygenase 1 (more than 4 times).

Automated summary

Endometriosis of the cervix is a rare form of genital endometriosis, characterized by tissue appearance on the vaginal part of the cervix resembling uterine cavity mucous membrane tissue. This study compared cytoskeletal proteins, H3 histone modifications, and DNA methylation in the eutopic endometrium and endometriosis foci on the cervix. The patient exhibited elevated levels of estradiol, interleukin-1 beta, and interleukin-8. Results showed reduced tubulin and stable microtubule marker content in the ectopic endometrium, along with increased alpha-actinin-1 content and gene expression. Additionally, DNA methylation levels were significantly reduced with an accumulation of the intermediate product 5-hydroxymethylcytosine.