Refine
Document Type
- Article (2) (remove)
Language
- English (2)
Has Fulltext
- yes (2)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (2)
Keywords
- Endometriosis (2) (remove)
Institute
- Biowissenschaften (1)
- Medizin (1)
Background: Endometriosis is characterized by the presence of functional endometrial tissue outside of the uterine cavity. It affects 1 in 10 women of reproductive age. This chronic condition commonly leads to consequences such as pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, infertility and an elevated risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. Despite the prevalence of endometriosis and its impact on women's lives, there are relatively few in vitro and in vivo models available for studying the complex disease biology, pathophysiology, and for use in the preclinical development of novel therapies. The goal of this study was to develop a novel three-dimensional (3D) cell culture model of ovarian endometriosis and to test whether it is more reflective of endometriosis biology than traditional two dimensional (2D) monolayer cultures.
Methods: A novel ovarian endometriosis epithelial cell line (EEC16) was isolated from a 34-year old female with severe endometriosis. After characterization of cells using in vitro assays, western blotting and RNA-sequencing, this cell line and a second, already well characterized endometriosis cell line, EEC12Z, were established as in vitro 3D spheroid models. We compared biological features of 3D spheroids to 2D cultures and human endometriosis lesions using immunohistochemistry and real-time semi-quantitative PCR.
Results: In comparison to normal ovarian epithelial cells, EEC16 displayed features of neoplastic transformation in in vitro assays. When cultured in 3D, EEC16 and EEC12Z showed differential expression of endometriosis-associated genes compared to 2D monolayer cultures, and more closely mimicked the molecular and histological features of human endometriosis lesions.
Conclusions: To our knowledge, this represents the first report of an in vitro spheroid model of endometriosis. 3D endometriosis models represent valuable experimental tools for studying EEC biology and the development of novel therapeutic approaches.
Endometriosis and its global research architecture : an in-depth density-equalizing mapping analysis
(2016)
Background: Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases. It is still a chameleon in many aspects and urges intense research activities in the fields of diagnosis, therapy and prevention. Despite the need to foster research in this area, no in-depth analysis of the global architecture of endometriosis research exists yet.
Methods: We here used the NewQIS platform to conduct a density equalizing mapping study, using the Web of Science as database with endometriosis related entries between 1900 and 2009. Density equalizing maps of global endometriosis research encompassing country-specific publication activities, and semi-qualitative indices such as country specific citations, citation rates, h-Indices were created.
Results: In total, 11,056 entries related to endometriosis were found. The USA was leading the field with 3705 publications followed by the United Kingdom (952) and Japan (846). Concerning overall citations and country-specific h-Indices, the USA again was the leading nation with 74,592 citations and a modified h-Index of 103, followed by the UK with 15,175 citations (h-Index 57). Regarding the citation rate, Sweden and Belgium were at top positions with rates of 22.46 and 22.26, respectively. Concerning collaborative studies, there was a steep increase in numbers present; analysis of the chronological evolution indicated a strong increase in international collaborations in the past 10 years.
Conclusions: This study is the first analysis that illustrates the global endometriosis research architecture. It shows that endometriosis research is constantly gaining importance but also underlines the need for further efforts and investments to foster research and ultimately improve endometriosis management on a global scale.