ENDOMETRIOSIS MODEL

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. Endometriosis is pathologically defined as the presence of endometrial tissue, both glands and stroma, in ectopic locations. The most common symptoms are severe pelvic pain and infertility, which occurs in approximately 40% of the patients. Despite some advances in science, mechanisms involved in endometriosis and infertility remain unknown. There are no specific, non invasive diagnostic biomarkers and no cure for endometriosis. There is a great need for more research in endometriosis that impact millions of women (1 in 10 women) around the world. Non-human primates, including the rhesus macaques, have been highlighted as the most appropriate model to study endometriosis and infertility, due to genetic, physiological, and anatomical similarities to humans, and the fact that they develop both spontaneous and induced endometriosis. The main objective of the present study is to establish an induced model of endometriosis in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) at the UPR-CPRC to be used for investigations that will lead to better understanding of the mechanisms involved in this enigmatic gynecological condition and its symptoms. These studies, which involve repeated laparoscopies, cannot be performed in women due to practical and ethical reasons. The CPRC is uniquely well-suited for the conduction of the proposed studies since it provides access to: i) a population of well-annotated, female rhesus macaques; ii) key collaborators with ample knowledge and expertise in endometriosis and infertility; and iii) powerful technologies such as DNA microarrays, gene expression assays and immuno tests. The outcomes from the proposed translational studies include identification of biomarkers and future therapeutic targets for two important women health issues, pain and infertility. This study will allow the direct application of findings to patients, and will uncover new hypotheses that could then be tested in future studies to be conducted in humans.