Prototype Salivary Assay for Quantification of Two Biomarkers for In Vitro Diagnosis of Endometriosis.

Endometriosis, a very common disease in women, is characterized by endometrial structures outside the uterine cavity. The lack of a reliable noninvasive diagnostic test and the often nonspecific symptoms of this pathology are responsible for the delay in definitive diagnosis of this disease. Recently, through a proteomics approach, our research group has identified two potential diagnostic markers for endometriosis in serum (Zn-alpha2-glycoprotein and complement C3 precursor). In this article, we describe the experimental conditions of a simple ELISA for rapid quantification of these two biomarkers in the saliva of patients with endometriosis. Finally, preliminary experiments on a small cohort of patients and controls have confirmed the potential diagnostic value of this assay.

Prototype of Multiplex Bead Assay for Quantification of Three Serum Biomarkers for In Vitro Diagnosis of Endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a very common disease, affecting 10% of women in the reproductive age. To date, a significant delay between onset of the symptoms and definitive diagnosis is caused by the lack of a reliable non-invasive diagnostic test. Recently, the potential value as diagnostic markers for endometriosis of three proteins (Zn-alpha2-glycoprotein, serum albumin, and complement C3 precursor), has been showed. In this article, we have defined the experimental conditions for the development of a multiplex bead array assay for rapid and simultaneous quantification of these three biomarkers in the serum of patients with endometriosis. Finally, pivotal experiments on a small cohort of patients have confirmed the diagnostic value of this assay. J. Cell. Physiol. 231: 2622-2627, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Serum biomarker for diagnosis of endometriosis.

Endometriosis is estimated to affect 10% of women during the reproductive years. The lack of a non-invasive diagnostic test significantly contributes to the long delay between onset of the symptoms and definitive diagnosis of endometriosis. This case-control study was conducted to identify specific endometriosis antigens using 2D gel analysis in women with endometriosis (n = 5) and without endometriosis (n = 5). Differentially expresses spots were analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight/mass spectrometry (nanoLC-ESI-MS/MS) with MASCOT analysis, in order to identify the corresponding proteins. ELISAs were performed on a different cohort of endometriosis (n = 120) and healthy patients (n = 20) in order to confirm the differential expression of the identified proteins. ROC analysis of ELISA results confirmed the statistical significance of the differential expression for one of these proteins: Zn-alpha2-glycoprotein (P = 0.019). We propose the analysis of the expression level of this protein in the serum as a new non-invasive diagnostic test for endometriosis.

In vitro model of stromal and epithelial immortalized endometriotic cells.

Endometriosis is a relatively common chronic gynecologic disorder that usually presents with chronic pelvic pain or infertility. It results from implantation of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. Despite its frequency and its impact on quality of life, the understanding of pathogenesis of endometriosis remains incomplete and its treatment remains controversial. In this work, we established a suitable in vitro model system of immortalized human endometriotic cell line taking advantage of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase. The results demonstrate that these cells retain the natural characteristics of endometrial cells in term of phenotype and of functional expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors, without chromosomal abnormalities. In conclusion, these cells are potentially useful as an experimental model to investigate endometriosis biology.