Endometriotic implants establishment: an in vitro model applying World Endometriosis Research Foundation (WERF) Endometriosis Phenome and Biobanking Harmonisation Project (EPhect) Standards

• Grant number: 19/16196-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: February 03, 2020
• End date: February 02, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Maternal and Child Health
• Principal Investigator: Manoel João Batista Castello Girão
• Grantee: Adriana Luckow Invitti Nogueira
• Supervisor: Christian Becker
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Oxford, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/17212-9 - Three-dimensional cell culture of topic endometrium cells and endometrial stem cells from women with endometriosis - A functional and adhesion potential study, BP.PD

Abstract

Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disorder defined as the presence of endometrial tissue within extra-uterine sites. The initiation and progression of the disease seems to be related to the presence of endometrial stem cells in regurgitated menstrual fluid and to the epithelial to mesothelial transition (EMT) process. A three-dimensional in vitro culture system which we have previously established, can resemble the physiological mechanisms of endometriosis initiation. According to this, the use of spheroids derived from endometrial cells, which was established in a previous project and is being evaluated and improved in this post-doctoral research, appears to be a good feature to the study of the initial steps of pelvic endometriosis. This project aims at evaluating the role of stem cells and the mechanism of endometriospheres attachment to a peritoneal mesothelial cell layer in the presence and absence of peritoneal fluid from women with deep infiltrating endometriosis. Both the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) will be evaluated during the attachment and establishment of endometriospheres. All the cells, tissues and fluids will be obtained according to the World Endometriosis Foundation (WERF) - Endometriosis Phenome and Biobanking Harmonization Project (EPHect) at the Endometriosis CaRe Centre - Oxford University. Also, this research stage will provide the training for the implementation of these standards to the Endometriosis Biobank of the Pelvic Pain Unit of the Federal University of São Paulo. (AU)