Exploring tissue origins and age characteristics in endometriosis

Exploring tissue origins and age characteristics in endometriosis By Eylül GÜN

Despite its widespread occurrence, the precise factors leading to endometriosis and the nature of its symptoms remain uncertain. To better understand the disease and improve treatment, Leap et al. from the US and Austria explored the use of DNA methylation…

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Epigenetic defects of stromal cells in endometriosis and adenomyosis lead to estrogen sensitivity

Epigenetic defects of stromal cells in endometriosis and adenomyosis lead to estrogen sensitivity By Nasuhi Engin Aydin

Serdar Bulun, MD, J.J. Sciarra Professor and Chair Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois has delivered a conference on “Endometriosis and adenomyosis: single-cell genome-wide approaches” at the Annual International Medical Conference of the Endometriosis Foundation…

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DNA damage response in eutopic endometria of endometriosis patients

DNA damage response in eutopic endometria of endometriosis patients By Dr. Youngran Park

The DNA damage response (DDR) is a network of cellular pathways that sense, signal, and repair the lesions occurring in DNA. Surveillance proteins that monitor DNA integrity activate the DNA repair pathways in response to DNA damage and try to prevent the generation of potentially deleterious mutations. Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent…

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Separation of epithelia and stroma components in endometriosis lesions yields remarkable molecular points - Ie-Ming Shih, MD, Ph.D.

Separation of epithelia and stroma components in endometriosis lesions yields remarkable molecular points - Ie-Ming Shih, MD, Ph.D. By Nasuhi Engin Aydin

The pathologies of adenomyosis and endometriosis are unique among non-malignant gynecological diseases and provide fertile research topics. Ectopic endometrial tissues may have distinct molecular changes distinct from eutopic endometria despite having similar morphology. In this regard, there are intriguing suggestions as…

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Non-coding RNAs and Endometriosis

Non-coding RNAs and Endometriosis By Ellen Tumimbang

Non-coding RNAs may have a fundamental role in the development of endometriosis. Non-coding transcripts have regulatory roles in the expression of protein-coding genes, thus regulate several signaling pathways. Based on their length, these non-coding RNAs are classified into two main classes:…

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Hormone Control Related Genes in Women With Endometriosis

Hormone Control Related Genes in Women With Endometriosis By Ellen Tumimbang

Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent disease.  The development of endometriosis is stimulated by the specific ability to receive the estrogen that is needed for growth and differentiation of endometrial cells and has numerous biological functions in eutopic and ectopic endometrium. Estrogen…

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Machine Learning Classifiers for Endometriosis

Machine Learning Classifiers for Endometriosis By Dr. Youngran Park

Endometriosis is a complicated gynecological disorder that affects about 176 million women worldwide. It significantly impairs mental and physical quality of life in patients but the etiology is poorly understood. Endometriosis also causes a large economic burden due to loss…

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A miniaturized version of endometrium: organoids for endometriosis research

A miniaturized version of endometrium: organoids for endometriosis research By Yu Yu

Organoids are a miniaturized version of a tissue that is produced in culture through three dimensions techniques in order to better mimic the tissues of origin. These cultures are supposed to better replicate the complexity of a biological organ/disease. Endometrial…

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Normal endometrium and cancer-associated mutations

Normal endometrium and cancer-associated mutations By Yu Yu

Next-generation sequencing technology has enabled the detection of genetic mutation with high efficiency. It is believed that tumor progression is a result of accumulating mutations, so-called “driver mutations”, which confer growth advantages to the cell. Although such a process is…

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Could Endometriosis-Related Infertility Be Genetic?

Could Endometriosis-Related Infertility Be Genetic? By Özge Özkaya

Researchers identified genetic polymorphisms or individual differences in two genes called AMA5 and KAZN among women with endometriosis who were infertile and control women who were fertile. The identification of these polymorphisms could help scientists better understand why some women…

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Vitamin D and Endometriosis

Vitamin D and Endometriosis By Nasuhi Engin Aydin

Scientists from Milan, Italy reviewed the effects of vitamin D on the reproductive health, and in particular "endometriosis" in their article which appeared in International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Vitamin D (VD), is a steroid hormone that is activated in…

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CARD10 and CARD11 Mutations: Another Piece of the Puzzle

CARD10 and CARD11 Mutations: Another Piece of the Puzzle By Kasthuri Nair

Zou et al., a research group from China, recently published a study titled “Analysis of CARD10 and CARD11 somatic mutations in patients with ovarian endometriosis” in Oncology Letters. The paper looked at the effects of caspase recruitment domain family member…

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Oxidative Stress and Endometriosis

Oxidative Stress and Endometriosis By Murat Osman

Endometriosis is a disease characterized by ectopic endometrial tissue outside the endometrium and is associated with a background of a chronic inflammation. Recent studies have aimed to elucidate the inflammatory mediators involved in endometriotic lesions by studying immune cell interactions,…

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Polymorphism of IL12B May Help Solve Endometriosis

Polymorphism of IL12B May Help Solve Endometriosis By Kasthuri Nair

Zhao et al. recently published a paper titled “A functional promoter polymorphism in interleukin 12B gene is associated with an increased risk of ovarian endometriosis” in Gene. The research group from Hebei Medical University wanted to explore the potential roles…

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Epigenetic link between endometriosis and cancer

Epigenetic link between endometriosis and cancer By Nasuhi Engin Aydin

Although endometriosis is considered a benign condition the cellular, histologic, and molecular data strongly demonstrate that endometriosis has neoplastic characteristics. There is strong evidence that endometriosis shares striking features with malignancy like normal tissue dissemination, invasion, and organ damage, as well as new vessel formation (neoangiogenesis).  In…

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Extending the Female Fertility Clock

Extending the Female Fertility Clock By Kasthuri Nair

Varela, Sanchez-de-Puerta, and Garcia-Velasco are a group of scientists from various institutions in Spain and they recently published a review article titled “Fertility, IVF and reproductive genetics” in Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology. In this publication, the authors discussed…

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O6-Methylguanine-DNA Methyltransferase Plays a Role in Endometriosis Development

O6-Methylguanine-DNA Methyltransferase Plays a Role in Endometriosis Development By Kasthuri Nair

Shchegolev et al. recently published a paper in Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine that explores the localization and behavior of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase, otherwise known as MGMT, a protein that repairs DNA and could potentially possess therapeutic properties. Their paper…

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Epigenetic regulation of the pathological process in endometriosis.

Epigenetic regulation of the pathological process in endometriosis. By Dr. Youngran Park

Epigenetic mechanisms have been recognized as important players in the development of a broad range of human diseases including endometriosis. A growing body of evidence shows that the remodeling of retrograde endometrial tissues to the ectopic endometriotic lesions involves multiple epigenetic…

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Endometriosis-related Mitochondrial DNA Control Region Polymorphisms Found in Brazil

Endometriosis-related Mitochondrial DNA Control Region Polymorphisms Found in Brazil By Kasthuri Nair

The genetic basis for the formation of endometriosis is still at large. Andres et al. from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil,  looked at various individuals, with and without endometriosis, to determine polymorphisms in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region that…

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Updates in the Field of Endometriosis: Epigenetics

Updates in the Field of Endometriosis: Epigenetics By Kasthuri Nair

In this chapter titled “A Review of the Epigenetic Contributions to Endometriosis,” Grimstad and Decherney examine various epigenetic influences that drive endometriosis disease progression. The epigenetic alterations they discuss include DNA methylation, histone modification, chromatin architecture changes, nuclear receptor modulation,…

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DNA methylation changes in endometrium during the transition from pre-receptive to receptive phase

DNA methylation changes in endometrium during the transition from pre-receptive to receptive phase By Yu Yu

The endometrium is unique in that it undergoes remarkable changes during menstrual cycle under the control of hormones, estrogen, and progesterone. The function of the endometrium is crucial for embryo implantation, during which the endometrium is receptive around a week…

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How ERα is regulated in endometriosis?

How ERα is regulated in endometriosis? By Yu Yu

Endometriosis pathogenesis is largely influenced by estrogen. Ectopic endometrium has altered expression of ERα compared to the eutopic endometrium. It is unclear what biological processes regulate such alteration. The article by Toderow et al. in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics…

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Mutations Associated with Cancer Were Identified in "Endometriosis without Cancer"

Mutations Associated with Cancer Were Identified in By Özge Özkaya

Lesions in deep infiltrating endometriosis harbor genetic mutations that are associated with cancer, found a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  The authors believe that this new discovery may help to distinguish between aggressive and non-aggressive forms of…

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Unexpected "cancer-related" mutations in "non-cancerous" endometriosis: Do they predict aggressiveness?

Unexpected By Laura Ardighieri

A study supported by Endometriosis Foundation of America, reported by scientists from Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore, USA) and the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada) have identified the molecular alterations of deep infiltrating endometriosis trough a wide exome­ sequencing (protein-coding genetic alphabet…

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