Endometriosis

Bulun SE, Serdar E Bulun, Bahar D Yilmaz, Sison C, Christia Sison, Miyazaki K, Kaoru Miyazaki, K. Miyazaki, Lia A. Bernardi, Bernardi L, Lia Bernardi, Shimeng Liu, Liu S, Amanda Kohlmeier, Kohlmeier A, Ping Yin, Yin P, Magdy P. Milad, Magdy Milad, Jian‐Jun Wei, Jian-Jun Wei, Wei J, JianJun Wei
Endocrine reviews · 2019 · vol. 40(4) , pp. 1048–1079 · doi:10.1210/er.2018-00242 · PMID:30994890 · PMC6693056 · W4211072069
review OA: bronze CC0 ⤵ 557 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

Endometriosis involves defectively programmed endometrial progenitor cells and epithelial cells with cancer driver mutations, leading to estrogen-driven inflammation and infertility.

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Abstract

Pelvic endometriosis is a complex syndrome characterized by an estrogen-dependent chronic inflammatory process that affects primarily pelvic tissues, including the ovaries. It is caused when shed endometrial tissue travels retrograde into the lower abdominal cavity. Endometriosis is the most common cause of chronic pelvic pain in women and is associated with infertility. The underlying pathologic mechanisms in the intracavitary endometrium and extrauterine endometriotic tissue involve defectively programmed endometrial mesenchymal progenitor/stem cells. Although endometriotic stromal cells, which compose the bulk of endometriotic lesions, do not carry somatic mutations, they demonstrate specific epigenetic abnormalities that alter expression of key transcription factors. For example, GATA-binding factor-6 overexpression transforms an endometrial stromal cell to an endometriotic phenotype, and steroidogenic factor-1 overexpression causes excessive production of estrogen, which drives inflammation via pathologically high levels of estrogen receptor-β. Progesterone receptor deficiency causes progesterone resistance. Populations of endometrial and endometriotic epithelial cells also harbor multiple cancer driver mutations, such as KRAS, which may be associated with the establishment of pelvic endometriosis or ovarian cancer. It is not known how interactions between epigenomically defective stromal cells and the mutated genes in epithelial cells contribute to the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Endometriosis-associated pelvic pain is managed by suppression of ovulatory menses and estrogen production, cyclooxygenase inhibitors, and surgical removal of pelvic lesions, and in vitro fertilization is frequently used to overcome infertility. Although novel targeted treatments are becoming available, as endometriosis pathophysiology is better understood, preventive approaches such as long-term ovulation suppression may play a critical role in the future.

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Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_paininfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Animals Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometrium Endometrium Female Humans Mice Receptors, Progesterone Stromal Cells Stromal Cells Stromal Cells Uterine Diseases

Funding

funders
[{'doi': '10.13039/100000071', 'name': 'National Institute of Child Health and Human Development', 'awards': ['HD38691']}]

Citation neighborhood

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References (100)

Cited by (50)

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