MicroRNAs: New players in endometriosis

Table 1 Current studies assessing the clinical utility of circulating miRNAs as biomarkers of endometriosis

Sample	Anticoagulant	Main results	Participants (patients/controls)	Ref.
Serum	-	↓ let-7b and miR-135a let-7d and let-7f showed a tendency towards down-regulationa	n = 24/n = 24b	[102]
Plasma	EDTA	↓ miR-17-5p, miR-20a and miR-22	n = 23/n = 23c	[103]
Serum	-	↑ miR-122 and miR-199a ↓ miR-9*, miR-141*, miR-145* and miR-542-3pa	n = 60/n = 25d	[106]
Plasma	EDTA	↓ miR-200a-3p, miR-200b-3p and miR-141-3pa	n = 61/n = 65e	[110]

Down-regulated (↓) and (↑) up-regulated miRNAs in samples from patients in comparison to control women.

^aCombination of miRNAs in bold yielded the best diagnostic value;

^bControl group presented dermoid cysts (n = 10), serours cystadenoma (n = 5), mucinous cystadenoma (n = 3), simple ovarian cysts (n = 3) and paratubal cysts (n = 1);

^cControl group presented uterine leiomyoma (n = 14), mature teratoma (n = 4), simple cysts (n = 3) and unexplained infertility (n = 2);

^dMain diagnosis: Infertility due to tubal factors;

^eThirty-five endometriosis-free women with primary (n = 10) or secondary (n = 15) infertility, suspicion of endometriosis (n = 5), polycystic ovaries (n = 3) and pelvic pain (n = 2) and 30 self-reported healthy women. EDTA: Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid.