The Expression of MBD6 Is Associated with Tumor Size in Uterine Leiomyomas.

Background: Uterine leiomyoma (UL) is the most common benign smooth muscle tumor of the uterus in reproductive women. Prior studies implicated that methyl-CpG-binding domain proteins (MBDs) may be involved in the pathogenesis of UL. Materials and Methods: In this study, UL tissues and paired adjacent myometrium were collected from a total of 51 patients. The expression of MBD mRNAs and the expression proteins were analyzed via quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays and western blotting, respectively. The relationships between the expression of and their clinicopathologic variables were assessed using Student's t test, nonparametric tests, or Pearson chi(2) methods. Results: Our results show that both the mRNA and protein levels of MBD2 were significantly decreased in ULs compared to their adjacent myometrium. In addition, MBD6 protein expression was also decreased significantly in UL samples when compared to the adjacent myometrium. There was, however, no significant difference on the mRNA expression of MBD6 between these two groups. Neither the mRNA nor the protein levels of the other MBD members (MBD1, MBD3, MBD4, MBD5, and MeCP2) showed any significant difference between ULs and the adjacent myometria. The decreased expression of the MBD6 protein was correlated with the tumor size of ULs. Conclusions: These results imply that the dysregulated expression of MBD2 and MBD6 in ULs may play a role in their development; however, a larger sample size together with cellular functional assays should be carried out to further elucidate the precise role of MBD6 in ULs.