Estrogen and androgen receptor expression in surface epithelium and inclusion cyst in the ovary of premenopausal and postmenopausal women

BACKGROUND The importance of surface epithelium and epithelial inclusion cysts in the ovary arises from studies demonstrating that these structures are susceptible to epithelial ovarian cancer development. The expression of estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha), androgen receptor (AR), in epithelial cells of the ovary from premenopausal and postmenopausal women is interesting because sexual steroid hormones are involved in cell growth and differentiation. METHODS The presence of ER alpha, AR, and the orphan G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30) was demonstrated by immunofluorescence in ovaries obtained from 79 pre and postmenopausal patients, undergoing histero-salpingo-oophorectomy for proliferative gynecological diseases. The proportion of patients that displayed positive reaction for estrogen and androgen receptors in epithelial cells of the ovary was evaluated according to menopausal status and associated pathology. RESULTS The proportion of patients that displayed a positive receptor expression in the epithelial cells of the ovarian surface and cortical inclusion cysts shows that ER alpha is present in 20 of 79 patients (0.25), AR in 33 of 79 (0.42) and GPR30 in 38 of 55 (0.69). There are no differences in ER alpha, AR, and GPR30 expression between pre and postmenopausal patients and considering the associated pathology, proportions for ER alpha and GPR30 are similar. The patients with cervical cancer show a higher proportion of AR expression in epithelial cells of the ovary, which is statistically significant (P < 0.01) compared with patients with other proliferative diseases. CONCLUSIONS The presence of ER alpha, AR, and GPR30 in the surface epithelial ovarian cells and its derivatives are observed with a proportion that is specific for each receptor. The proportion of expression for these receptors in the epithelial cells of the ovary does not change after menopause. The proportion of ovaries with AR positive epithelial cells in patients with cervical squamous carcinoma is higher compared with other gynecological pathologies.