Project description:Endometriosis is a chronic, estrogen-dependent gynecological condition that affects approximately 10% of women of reproductive age. The most widely accepted theory of the etiology of endometriosis includes the process of retrograde menstruation, where menstrual effluent travels up the Fallopian tubes, accesses the peritoneal cavity, and in some people is able to establish endometriotic lesions. Recent reports suggest the uterus is not devoid of bacteria, as was once believed. Thus, the refluxed menstrual effluent may also carry bacteria along with it, and this bacteria has been suggested to contribute to inflammation, and establishment and growth of endometriotic lesions. Here, we sought to compare and contrast the uterine bacteria (endometrial microbiota) in women with surgically confirmed presence or absence of endometriosis using next-generation 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We obtained an average of more than 9000 sequence reads per endometrial biopsy, and found that the endometrial microbiota of women with endometriosis was more diverse (greater Shannon Diversity Index and greater proportion of ‘Other’ taxa) than that of symptomatic controls (women with pelvic pain, but with surgically confirmed absence of endometriosis; diagnosed with other benign gynecological conditions at surgery). The difference in endometrial microbiotas was supported in unsupervised cluster analyses where some clustering of endometrial microbiota by disease status (endometriosis vs. controls) was observed. The bacterial taxa enriched in the endometrial microbiota of women with endometriosis belonged to the Actinobacteria phylum, Oxalobacteraceae and Streptococcaceae families, and Tepidimonas genus, while those enriched in the symptomatic controls (without endometriosis) belonged to the Burkholderiaceae family, and Ralstonia genus. Taken together, our findings suggest the endometrial microbiota is perturbed in people with endometriosis.
Project description:Endometriosis, an estrogen-dependent, progesterone-resistant, inflammatory disorder affects 10% of reproductive-age women. It is diagnosed and staged at surgery, resulting in an 11-year latency from symptom onset to diagnosis, underscoring the need for less invasive, less expensive approaches. Since the uterine lining (endometrium) in women with endometriosis has altered molecular profiles, we tested whether molecular classification of this tissue can distinguish and stage disease. We developed classifiers using genomic data from n=148 archived endometrial samples from women with endometriosis or without endometriosis (normal controls or with other common uterine/pelvic pathologies) across the menstrual cycle and evaluated their performance on independent sample sets. Classifiers were trained separately on samples in specific hormonal milieu, using margin tree classification, and accuracies were scored on independent validation samples. Classification of samples from women with endometriosis or no endometriosis involved two binary decisions each based on expression of specific genes. These first distinguished presence or absence of uterine/pelvic pathology and then no endometriosis from endometriosis, with the latter further classified according to severity (minimal/mild or moderate/severe). Best performing classifiers identified endometriosis with 90-100% accuracy, were cycle phase-specific or independent, and utilized relatively few genes to determine disease and severity. Differential gene expression and pathway analyses revealed immune activation, altered steroid and thyroid hormone signaling/metabolism and growth factor signaling in endometrium of women with endometriosis. Similar findings were observed with other disorders versus controls. Thus, classifier analysis of genomic data from endometrium can detect and stage pelvic endometriosis with high accuracy, dependent or independent of hormonal milieu. We propose that limited classifier candidate-genes are of high value in developing diagnostics and identifying therapeutic targets. Discovery of endometrial molecular differences in the presence of endometriosis and other uterine/pelvic pathologies raises the broader biological question of their impact on the steroid hormone response and normal functions of this tissue. We analyzed endometrial samples from n=148 women without or with endometriosis and/or other uterine/pelvic pathologies, using whole genome microarrays.
Project description:Purpose- To identify the pathways and processes that are dysregulated in the eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis Methods-RNA sequencing was used to detect and quantify the transcripts encoded by the whole genome in the eutopic endometrium. Mid-secretory phase eutopic endometrial samples from women with (n=4) and without endometriosis (n=4) were processed for RNA sequencing and the data were compared to identify the transcripts displaying differential abundance in women with endometriosis, compared to those without endometriosis (controls)
Project description:Purpose- To identify the pathways and processes that are dysregulated in the eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis Methods- RNA sequencing was used to detect and quantify the transcripts encoded by the whole genome in the eutopic endometrium. Mid-proliferative phase eutopic endometrial samples from women with (n=4) and without endometriosis (n=3) were processed for RNA sequencing and the data were compared to identify the transcripts displaying differential abundance in women with endometriosis, compared to those without endometriosis (controls)
Project description:This project aims at comparing endometrium from women with and without endometriosis during the secretory phase of menstrual cycle. The present results constitute a first step towards identifying potential diagnosis biomarkers and may provide a better understanding of endometriosis especially the etiology of the disease.
Project description:Endometriosis, an estrogen-dependent, progesterone-resistant, inflammatory disorder affects 10% of reproductive-age women. It is diagnosed and staged at surgery, resulting in an 11-year latency from symptom onset to diagnosis, underscoring the need for less invasive, less expensive approaches. Since the uterine lining (endometrium) in women with endometriosis has altered molecular profiles, we tested whether molecular classification of this tissue can distinguish and stage disease. We developed classifiers using genomic data from n=148 archived endometrial samples from women with endometriosis or without endometriosis (normal controls or with other common uterine/pelvic pathologies) across the menstrual cycle and evaluated their performance on independent sample sets. Classifiers were trained separately on samples in specific hormonal milieu, using margin tree classification, and accuracies were scored on independent validation samples. Classification of samples from women with endometriosis or no endometriosis involved two binary decisions each based on expression of specific genes. These first distinguished presence or absence of uterine/pelvic pathology and then no endometriosis from endometriosis, with the latter further classified according to severity (minimal/mild or moderate/severe). Best performing classifiers identified endometriosis with 90-100% accuracy, were cycle phase-specific or independent, and utilized relatively few genes to determine disease and severity. Differential gene expression and pathway analyses revealed immune activation, altered steroid and thyroid hormone signaling/metabolism and growth factor signaling in endometrium of women with endometriosis. Similar findings were observed with other disorders versus controls. Thus, classifier analysis of genomic data from endometrium can detect and stage pelvic endometriosis with high accuracy, dependent or independent of hormonal milieu. We propose that limited classifier candidate-genes are of high value in developing diagnostics and identifying therapeutic targets. Discovery of endometrial molecular differences in the presence of endometriosis and other uterine/pelvic pathologies raises the broader biological question of their impact on the steroid hormone response and normal functions of this tissue.
Project description:The objectives of the study: 1. Does the phase of the menstrual cycle alter microRNA (miRNA) plasma profiles in healthy women of reproductive age and in women with endometriosis? 2. Does this alter prospects for development of a miRNA-based diagnostic test for endometriosis? Prospectively recruited asymptomatic control women and women with surgically diagnosed endometriosis (n = 8 in each group) were included. Each patient provided blood samples in the early proliferative, late proliferative and mid luteal phases of the menstrual cycle (n = 47 total plasma samples). The cycle phase was verified by hormonal profile. RNA was extracted from each sample and expression of microRNAs was assessed using TaqMan Low Density Human miRNA arrays.
Project description:Endometriosis is a highly prevalent gynecological disease affecting 10% of women of reproductive age worldwide. miRNAs may play a role in endometriosis, though their exact function remains unclear. Here, we identified differentially expressed miRNAs in endometriosis and studied their functional role in the disease. (2) Methods: Endometrial tissue was collected from women with endometriosis (n=15) and non-endometriosis controls (n=17). Dysregulated miRNAs were identified through small RNA-sequencing, and their biological significance was explored by target gene prediction and pathway analysis. Selected miRNAs were examined in paired ectopic endometriomas and eutopic endometrium (n=10) using qRT-PCR. Their roles in cell migration and proliferation were further examined in vitro using functional assays. To identify potential target genes, we performed mRNA sequencing on transfected cells and the endometrioma cohort. (3) Results: We identified 14 dysregulated miRNAs in the eutopic endometrium of women with endometriosis compared to endometrial tissue from women without endometriosis. Pathway analysis indicated enrichment in cell migration and proliferation associated pathways. Further ex-vivo studies of miR-193b-5p and miR-374b-5p showed that both miRNAs were up-regulated in endometriomas. Overexpression of these two miRNAs in vitro inhibited cell migration and mRNA sequencing revealed several migration-related genes that are targeted by these miRNAs. (4) Conclusions: Our study identified two key endometrial miRNAs that may be involved in the pathogenesis of endometriosis by regulating cell migration.