New approache to endometriosis treatment -- mouse experiments point the way

Possible new directions for the treatment of endometriosis, a painful condition associated with infertility that affects up to 15% of women of reproductive age, will be outlined in the presentation of experimental study at the 23rd annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (Tuesday July 3). This concern targeting angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) which is encourages endometriosis by providing a rich blood supply.

Dr. Ofer Fainaru from Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston, in Boston, Mass., USA, will announce that his team has found that dendritic cells (highly specialised immune cells)  support angiogenesis by enhancing blood vessel growth. Using a mouse model of endometriosis, they found that these cells incorporate into the endometriosis lesions and enhance their growth. “We also found that these cells have a similar effect on intra-abdominal tumours”, he said.

“We therefore believe that targeting dendritic cells may prove to be a promising strategy for treating conditions dependent on angiogenesis, such as endometriosis and cancer”, says Dr. Fainaru. “Our next step will be to look for specific dendritic cell inhibitors that could have the potential to decrease angiogenesis in these conditions”.

The team hopes that in the future it may be able to develop cell-specific therapy for angiogenesis-dependent diseases that will be more effective and less toxic than current treatments.