The Effects of Melatonin and Calcitriol on Endometrial Cells in Culture

Endometriosis is an inflammatory metastatic disease that affects the endometrium of one in ten women. Endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus causing severe discomfort and pain. This disease is estrogen dependent, driving the invasion and migration of endometrial lesions to form the ectopic uterus. Due to the hormonal imbalance of increased estrogen, there is progesterone resistance leading to a decrease in progesterone receptors. This study determined if the combination of Melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone, and Calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D, had a synergistic or additive effect on the growth and migration of endometrial cells. The experiments utilized the immortalized endometriotic epithelial (12 Z) cell lines to conduct cell viability, wound closure, and clonogenic growth and growth curves. Results revealed that a combination of Melatonin and Calcitriol had an additive effect in reducing cell viability, inhibiting migration, and decreasing proliferation.