HSF1 promotes endometriosis development and glycolysis by up-regulating PFKFB3 expression

Abstract

Background Endometriosis is a chronic hormonal inflammatory disease characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. Endometriosis often causes infertility, which affects the body and mind of patients and their families.Methods We examined the functions of heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) in endometriosis development through cell count, scratch and clone formation experiments. We used quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot (WB) to detect the functions of HSF1 in endometriosis cells. Glucose and lactate levels were determined using a glucose (GO) assay kit and a lactate assay kit. Furthermore, we established a mouse model of endometriosis by using a HSF1 inhibitor-KRIBB11.Results Our study demonstrated that HSF1 was highly expressed in endometriosis, and promoted endometriosis development. Interestingly, we found that HSF1 promoted glycolysis in endometriosis cells. Further, HSF1 enhanced glycolysis by up-regulating PFKFB3 in endometriosis cells, which was a key enzyme in glucose metabolism. Moreover, the HSF1 inhibitor KRIBB11 could abrogate endometriosis progression in vivo and in vitro.Conclusions Findings indicate that HSF1 plays an important role in the development of endometriosis, which might become a new target for the treatment of endometriosis and provide a new idea for the clinical treatment of endometriosis.Electronic supplementary material Supplementary data are available.