Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of endometriosis

Type: Article

Published: January 9, 2023

Journal: Nature Genetics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-022-01254-1

Image: Fonseca, M.A.S., Haro, M., Wright, K.N. et al.

Key Takeaways:

The study analyzed over 400,000 individual cells from 21 patients to characterize the epithelial component, microenvironmental stromal cells and immune cells involved in endometriosis.

Genes specifically upregulated included MUC1, MGP and ITM2B which may be useful as biomarkers.

Epithelial cells upregulated nerve growth factor signaling pathways, supporting a role for epithelial cells in promoting innervation of deep lesions. This is critical for therapeutic targeting. The single-cell atlas of endometriosis represents a valuable and timely resource for the endometriosis research community, as well as for the study of endometriosis-related ovarian cancers.

Continued large-scale efforts are needed, as the data indicate that endometrioma and peritoneal endometriosis represent different subtypes which will likely require different approaches to treatment and diagnosis.

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