Abstract: Objective: To analyze the level of plasma miR-451 in patients with endometriosis (EMs), and to investigate the effect of miR-451 on the proliferation and migration of the stromal cells cultured in vitro. Methods：We recruited 54 cases of EMs and 59 healthy volunteers from January 2014 to May 2015 at People′s Hospital of Luohu District. Total RNA from plasma were extracted, and the expression of plasma miR-451 was analyzed with real-time qPCR. The proliferation viability of stromal cells was detected by CCK-8 assay, and migration by the wound-healing assay. Results：The level of plasma miR-451 in EMs patients was significantly lower than that in healthy volunteers [(0.53±0.14) vs. (1.00±0.20), t=14.50, P＜0.01]. Overexpression of miR-451 in the in vitro cultured stromal cells significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of stromal cells[(1.00±0.12) vs. (0.74±0.02), t=4.73, P=0.001]. Conclusions：The level of plasma miR-451 is lowered in patients with EMs. miR-451 may participate in the pathophysiological mechanism of EMs by the inhibition of proliferation and migration of ectopic stromal cells.

Key words: Endometriosis, MicroRNAs, Endometrium, Polymerase chain reaction, miR-451