Non-Invasive clinical markers for diagnosis of endometriosis
Endometriosis is a chronic disease that affects 10% of all women of reproductive age. It is characterized by the ectopic growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus and is a major cause of pelvic pain and disability. Endometriosis also has an adverse effect on fertility, with almost one third of patients failing to conceive. The aetiology of endometriosis is unknown and a definitive diagnosis of endometriosis requires invasive laparoscopic surgery, and treatment options are limited in number and efficacy. This research proposal will adopt an integrated, systems biology approach to finely characterize how circulating and local uterine glycoprotein profiles are altered in endometriosis, and how such profiles may be influenced by dysbiosis of the uterine microbial ecosystem including possible intracellular pathogen infection. Using our combined multidisciplinary expertise in glycomics, microbiome and gynaecology, we will use findings from this study to define how changes in glycosylation pattern and microbial profile that are associated with endometriosis may be developed as novel, non-invasive diagnostic markers for the disease. It may also provide insight into disease pathogenesis. Accurate diagnosis and effective treatment of endometriosis has the potential to significantly reduce the healthcare cost burden associated with current strategies and may increase success rates of pregnancy and live births in these patients. This collaborative translational research project will be primarily based at NIBRT (SME, host institution), with secondments in APC Microbiome Institute, University College Cork (UCC), and also at the Merrion Fertility Clinic (MFC) and University College Dublin Centre for Support and Training in Analysis and Research (UCD CSTAR).