Agents implicated in endometriosis

The present invention relates to the discovery of genes and their products that are associated with the disease endometriosis. It has been discovered that cathepsin D, AEBP-1, stromelysin-3, cystatin B, protease inhibitor 1, sFRP4, gelsolin, IGFBP-3, dual specificity phosphatase 1, PAEP, immunoglobulin lambd chain, ferritin, complement component 3, pro-alpha-1 type III collagen, proline 4-hydroxylase, alpha-2 type I collagen, claudin-4, melanoma adhesion protein, procollagen C-endopeptidase enhancer, nascent-polypeptide-associated complex alpha polypeptide, elongation factor 1 alpha (EF-1alpha), vitamin D3 25 hydroxylase, CSRP-1, steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, apolipoprotein E, transcobalamin II, prosaposin, early growth response 1 (EGR1), ribosomal protein S6, adenosine deaminase RNA-specific protein, RAD21, guanine nucleotide binding protein beta polypeptide 2-like 1 (RACK1) and podocalyxin are all implicated in this disease. The discovery of these associations has clear implications for the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis and related conditions.