Metabolomics Reveals\nAltered Lipid Metabolism in a\nMouse Model of Endometriosis

Endometriosis\nis a common chronic estrogen-dependent gynecological\ndisease affecting 10% of women in their reproductive age. It is characterized\nby proliferation of functional endometrial glands and stroma outside\nthe uterine cavity. In the present study, we used mass spectrometry-based\nlipidomics to investigate the alterations in serum lipid profiles\nof mice induced with endometriosis. We identified several dysregulated\nlipids such as phosphatidylcholines, sphingomyelins, phosphatidyl­ethanolamines,\nand triglycerides and show that triglycerides may be due to a general\ninflammatory condition in the peritoneum. We also show that in addition\nto phosphatidylcholine alteration, there is also an effect in the\nratio of phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidyl­ethanolamine in serum\nof mice induced with the disease and that this change may be due to\nincreased expression of the phosphatidyl­ethanolamine N-methyltransferase gene. The study provides new insight\ninto the etiology of endometriosis.