Researchers in the Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences have made a key finding about endometriosis in humans and mice that could lead to new nonhormonal treatments for the disease.
“Endometriosis is caused by translocation of the endometrial tissue from the uterus of women into the peritoneal cavity, or the abdomen, during menstrual cycles,” said corresponding author Ramanaiah Mamillapalli, a research scientist at the School of Medicine. The researchers’ study was published on March 27 in the journal Reproductive Sciences.
Mamillapalli explained that endometriosis is a gynecologic disease in women between the reproductive ages of 20 and 40, in which tissues of cells released from the uterus move to the abdomen and grow lesions. The disease causes inflammation and pain in the stomach, as well as depression, anxiety and infertility.
“We found out an overexpression of this G-protein-coupled receptor CXCR7 in endometriosis patients,” Mamillapalli said. “Then we looked at what its function in mice is, and we found that it enhanced the proliferation of cells that cause cell division. It also affects apoptosis or cell death. So it will inhibit the cell death. And then we are communicating one more manuscript in which we inhibited this molecule, and there, you can see the lesion size reduced very much.”
According to Reshef Tal, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the medical school and co-author of the paper, the study contributes to a better understanding of the pathogenesis and underlying causes of endometriosis.
“There’s still much work to do in terms of our understanding of the [endometriosis] pathogenesis, but we’re making progress and I can definitely foresee new biological therapies to combat this disease,” Tal said.
Hormonal treatments are just overpowering and try to dramatically alter hormones to abnormal levels rather than resetting things back to normal.
Dr. Hugh Taylor, Co-Author, Department Chair and Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences
Mamillapalli said that he and researchers are now developing diagnostic tools to detect endometriosis through microRNAs, or small molecules that regulate the expression of genes like the one that encodes CXCR7. Endometriotic lesions release specific microRNAs into the bloodstream, so diagnosis of endometriosis is possible by taking someone’s blood, collecting the serum and observing the level of microRNAs present. Once the diagnosis is complete, the receptor CXCR7 can then be inhibited to treat endometriosis.
Hugh Taylor ’83, a co-author of the study and a professor in obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, said that blocking the receptor CXCR7 shows that endometriosis can be treated, raising the possibility of a novel treatment for the disease.
Taylor emphasized the importance of developing a nonhormonal treatment, since hormone treatments cause widespread changes in the body and can have multiple side effects, including mood changes, depression and bloating. Standard treatment can even involve stopping the production of all reproductive hormones, essentially causing a menopause.
“Hormonal treatments are just overpowering and try to dramatically alter hormones to abnormal levels rather than resetting things back to normal,” Taylor said.
Nonhormonal treatments, on the other hand, have the advantage of specifically targeting the lesion.