Single cell analysis of endometriosis reveals a coordinated transcriptional program driving immunotolerance and angiogenesis across eutopic and ectopic tissues.

Elise T Courtois, Yuliana Tan, William F Flynn, Santosh Sivajothi, Diane Luo, Suleyman B. Bozal, Anthony A. Luciano, Paul Robson, D. Luciano
In: Research Square · 2021 · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-745435/v1 · W3186597421
preprint OA: green CC0
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

Single-cell transcriptomics of endometriosis tissues reveals a coordinated program of immunotolerance and angiogenesis driven by unique perivascular mural cells and a novel epithelial subpopulation.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This study used single-cell transcriptome profiling of peritoneal and ovarian lesions from 12 individuals, comparing lesion tissues to matched eutopic endometrium, control endometrium, and tissue-derived organoids, generating data across over 100,000 cells. Using imaging mass cytometry for spatial localization, the authors identified a perivascular mural cell unique to peritoneal lesions with roles in angiogenesis promotion and immune cell trafficking, and they defined an immunotolerant peritoneal niche plus differences in lesion microenvironments and eutopic endometrium. The paper also reports a novel progenitor-like epithelial cell subpopulation. A key caveat explicitly stated is that it is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it presents a single-cell atlas of endometriosis lesions, highlighting immunotolerance and angiogenesis programs.

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Abstract

Abstract Endometriosis is characterized by growth of endometrial-like tissue outside of the uterus affecting many women in their reproductive age, causing years of pelvic pain and potential infertility. Its pathophysiology remains largely unknown, limiting diagnosis and treatment. We characterized peritoneal and ovarian lesions at single-cell transcriptome resolution and compared to matched eutopic endometrium, control endometrium, and organoids derived from these tissues, generating data on over 100,000 cells across 12 individuals. We spatially localized many of the cell types using imaging mass cytometry. We identify a perivascular mural cell unique to the peritoneal lesions with dual roles in angiogenesis promotion and immune cell trafficking. We define an immunotolerant peritoneal niche, fundamental differences in eutopic endometrium and between lesions microenvironments, and a novel progenitor-like epithelial cell subpopulation. Altogether, this study provides a holistic view of the endometriosis microenvironment representing the first comprehensive cell atlas of the disease, essential information for advancing therapeutics and diagnostics.

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Condition tags

endometriosisinfertility

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References (99)

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