2023-06-27 07:25:05
“Fusobacterium” (white dots) is strongly expressed near the uterus (endometrium) of patients with endometriosis. PROFESSOR YUTAKA KONDO
It’s a ray of hope for millions of women suffering from endometriosis − and perhaps the beginning of an explanation of the causes of this pathology. For the very first time, a team of Japanese researchers from Nagoya University has demonstrated that an infection due to a bacterium of the genus Fusobacterium is involved in this hormone-dependent disease – the causes of which are genetic and environmental. Above all, this bacterium, present in the intestinal and vaginal microbiota and in our gums, might be treated with antibiotics. Their work was published on Wednesday, June 14, in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
The researchers proceeded in four stages to establish the basis of their work: After collecting endometrial tissue from around 30 women, half of whom had endometriosis, they carried out a genetic study and identified abnormalities in the cells of these tissues. The researchers then focused on a gene over-expressed in endometriosis patients: TAGLN. This gene is activated by a protein (TGF-beta), causing cells to multiply and migrate in tissues. The gene is also modulated in response to bacterial contamination. Endometriosis is characterized by the presence of endometrial cells that migrate abnormally, during the menstrual cycle, toward the genital organs (ovaries or vagina) and sometimes the rectum, colon and bladder.
“We hypothesized that TGF-beta abundance in the endometrial microenvironment might be associated with bacterial infection causing this inflammation,” the researchers wrote. This was the second stage of their work. They analyzed the bacteria present in 155 women − 64% of those suffering from endometriosis (79 women) were carriers of Fusobacterium. Among the others, only 7% had this bacterium.
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Third step: demonstrate in vivo that it does indeed have an impact on the development of the disease. The team led by Dr. Yutaka Kondo, a cancer biologist at Nagoya University and co-author of the article, transplanted endometrial tissue from one group of mice to another to create a model of endometriosis lesions and inoculated some mice with Fusobacterium. After a few weeks, lesions typical of endometriosis were more prominent in these mice, irrespective of the dose of bacteria injected. “This clearly shows that this bacterium facilitates the proliferation of endometrial cells, and corroborates all the work carried out by these researchers in vitro,” said Dr. Daniel Vaiman, research director in charge of the genomics, epigenetics and physiopathology of reproduction team at French research institute Cochin, which is currently conducting research into the genetic aspects of endometriosis.
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