Endometrial Stromal Cells from Endometriosis Patients Reflect Lesion-Type-Specific Heterogeneity

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Biology
• Cellular and Molecular Medicine
• Gynecological Pathology

Background:

• Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women, characterized by endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus.
• Significant heterogeneity exists in endometriosis, but underlying mechanisms for clinical variations are unclear.
• Endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) are key components of the endometrium and play roles in disease pathogenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the distinct in vitro phenotypes of ESCs from different types of endometriotic lesions.
• To compare these phenotypes to ESCs from normal (eutopic) endometrium.
• To identify molecular mechanisms contributing to endometriosis heterogeneity.

Main Methods:

• Isolation and characterization of ESCs from endometrioma, superficial, and deep lesions, and eutopic endometrium.
• Assessment of cellular functions including proliferation, migration, and contractility.
• Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses to identify molecular differences.

Main Results:

• ESCs from endometriotic lesions showed reduced proliferation but increased migration compared to eutopic ESCs.
• This migratory increase was most pronounced in endometrioma ESCs.
• ESCs from superficial and deep lesions exhibited increased contractility, unlike endometrioma ESCs.

Conclusions:

• Distinct in vitro phenotypes of ESCs from different endometriotic lesions correlate with clinical presentation variations.
• These findings highlight the role of ESCs in endometriosis heterogeneity.
• ESCs from endometriotic lesions provide a valuable in vitro model for studying disease mechanisms.