Mechanisms and interventions addressing accelerated cardiovascular disease risk in women with endometriosis

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ABSTRACT (Parent Grant) Endometriosis is a debilitating estrogen-dependent gynecological disorder deriving from the presence of endometrium like tissue in sites outside the uterine cavity. Approximately 6-10% of women have endometriosis and suffer from symptoms including chronic pelvic pain, pain during intercourse, infertility, and other co- morbidities associated with systemic inflammation. The widespread nature of this disease extends to impact overall health, including contributing to elevated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) --the leading cause of death in women. Endometriosis and atherosclerotic CVD are both inflammation-induced diseases. Estrogen exposure is beneficial for women from a CVD standpoint, but the standard of treatment for endometriosis includes estrogen suppression. This creates a conundrum for the long-term management of CVD risk in womenwith endometriosis. This proposal fills a significant gap in prior research into the role of inflammatory signaling, CVD risk and effective interventions to mitigate cardiovascular comorbidities. Circulating oxidized lipids and inflammatory cytokines that are elevated in women with endometriosis stimulate the ubiquitously expressed scavenger lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor (LOX-1) on the vasculature resulting in pronounced endothelial dysfunction, one of the earliest detectable indicators of increased CVD risk. Estrogen directly inhibits LOX-1- dependent endothelial dysfunction and thus the standards of care for endometriosis treatment may be exacerbating CVD risk. Our working model is that endometriosis-associated systemic inflammatory mediators increase LOX-1 receptor activity and result in endothelial dysfunction. Our global hypothesis is that in women with endometriosis increased CVD risk is the result chronic systemic inflammation inducing endothelial dysfunction, mediated through LOX-1 receptor, and this CVD risk is exacerbated by standard estrogen suppression treatments. In this application, we use a multipronged approach including in vivo and ex vivo human physiological experiments to determine the role of inflammation and estrogen suppression on cardiovascular specific outcomes in the setting of endometriosis. This series of studies in women with endometriosis will delineate the roles of estradiol (Specific Aim 1) and systemic inflammation (Specific Aim 2) in endometriosis- associated accelerated CVD risk. These studies will evaluate novel signaling mechanisms including the linkage common to both CVD and endometriosis through the downstream activation of the ubiquitous scavenger receptor LOX-1. We will also test the effects of two distinct interventions (Specific Aim 3) including the selective estrogenreceptor modulator bazedoxifene, and the statin simvastatin in mitigating CVD risk in women with endometriosis. Our studies have the potential to identify clinically relevant therapeutic targets and interventions thus decreasing CVD burden in women with endometriosis.