Aspirin inhibits endometrial fibrosis by suppressing the TGF‑β1‑Smad2/Smad3 pathway in intrauterine adhesions

Zhang,Zihui; Li,Shuang; Deng,Jie; Yang,Shaorong; Xiang,Ziwu; Guo,Hongyan; Xi,Hongli; Sang,Ming; Zhang,Wei

doi:10.3892/ijmm.2020.4506

Aspirin inhibits endometrial fibrosis by suppressing the TGF‑β1‑Smad2/Smad3 pathway in intrauterine adhesions

Authors:
- Zihui Zhang
- Shuang Li
- Jie Deng
- Shaorong Yang
- Ziwu Xiang
- Hongyan Guo
- Hongli Xi
- Ming Sang
- Wei Zhang
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Affiliations: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Xiangyang No. 1 People's Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Xiangyang, Hubei 441000, P.R. China, Department of Pathology, Xiangyang No. 1 People's Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Xiangyang, Hubei 441000, P.R. China
Published online on: February 19, 2020 https://doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.2020.4506
Pages: 1351-1360
Copyright: © Zhang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Intrauterine adhesions (IUAs) represent one of the most common diseases in women of reproductive age. Patients with moderate‑to‑severe IUA can experience a decrease in normal menstrual patterns, amenorrhea and even infertility. At present, the first‑line treatment strategies for IUAs in the clinical practice are hysteroscopic transuterine resection of adhesion and postoperative adjuvant therapy, including oestrogen. However, a high recurrence rate of IUAs remains. In recent years, studies have demonstrated that aspirin combined with oestrogen may significantly prevent the postoperative disease recurrence rate, improve endometrial receptivity and improve the conception rate by increasing endometrial blood supply and angiogenesis more effectively. The TGF‑β1‑Smad2/Smad3 pathway is one of the important mechanisms involved in endometrial fibrosis. However, whether aspirin can inhibit endometrial fibrosis through the TGF‑β1‑Smad2/Smad3 pathway to prevent postoperative re‑adhesion remains to be elucidated. The results of the present study suggested that aspirin inhibits endometrial fibrosis by suppressing the TGF‑β1‑Smad2/Smad3 pathway, which may provide new hypotheses for the mechanism of action of aspirin in the treatment of IUAs.

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