Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Research Publications
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ItemLessons from implementing the Australian National Action Plan for Endometriosis.(Bioscientifica, 2022-07-01)ABSTRACT: Endometriosis is a common yet under-recognised chronic disease with one in nine (more than 830,000) women and those assigned female at birth diagnosed with endometriosis by the age of 44 years in Australia. In 2018, Australia was the first country to develop a roadmap and blueprint to tackle endometriosis in a nationwide, coordinated manner. This blueprint is outlined in the National Action Plan for Endometriosis (NAPE), created from a partnership between government, endometriosis experts and advocacy groups. The NAPE aims to improve patient outcomes in the areas of awareness and education, clinical management and care and research. As researchers and clinicians are working to improve the lives of those with endometriosis, we discuss our experiences since the launch of the plan to highlight areas of consideration by other countries when developing research priorities and clinical plans. Historically, major barriers for those with endometriosis have been twofold; first, obtaining a diagnosis and secondly, effective symptom management post-diagnosis. In recent years, there have been calls to move away from the historically accepted 'gold-standard' surgical diagnosis and single-provider specialist care. As there are currently no reliable biomarkers for endometriosis diagnosis, specialist endometriosis scans and MRI incorporating artificial intelligence offer a novel method of visualisation and promising affordable non-invasive diagnostic tool incorporating well-established technologies. The recognised challenges of ongoing pain and symptom management, a holistic interdisciplinary care approach and access to a chronic disease management plan, could lead to improved patient outcomes while reducing healthcare costs. LAY SUMMARY: Endometriosis is a chronic disease where tissue like the lining of the uterus is found in other locations around the body. For the 830,000 people living with endometriosis in Australia, this often results in an immense burden on all aspects of daily life. In 2018, Australia was the first country to introduce a roadmap and blueprint to tackle endometriosis in a nationwide coordinated manner with the National Action Plan for Endometriosis. This plan was created as a partnership between government, endometriosis experts and advocacy groups. There are several other countries who are now considering similar plans to address the burden of endometriosis. As researchers and clinicians are working to improve the lives of those with endometriosis, we share our experiences and discuss areas that should be considered when developing these national plans, including diagnostic pathways without the need for surgery, and building new centres of expertise in Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain.
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ItemAn Aotearoa New Zealand survey of the impact and diagnostic delay for endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain.(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2022-03-15)Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) causes important negative effects on quality of life. Endometriosis is the most common cause of CPP in females, and diagnostic delay is over six years internationally. Data remain scarce for CPP impact or diagnostic delay in Aotearoa New Zealand. This study used an online survey to explore the impact of CPP on various life domains for those aged over 18. Additionally, for those with an endometriosis diagnosis, diagnostic delay and factors affecting this over time were explored. There were 800 respondent (620 with self-reported endometriosis). CPP symptoms, irrespective of final diagnosis, started prior to age 20 and negatively impacted multiple life domains including employment, education, and relationships. Mean diagnostic delay for those with endometriosis was 8.7 years, including 2.9 years between symptom onset and first presentation and 5.8 years between first presentation and diagnosis. Five doctors on average were seen prior to diagnosis. However, there was a reduction in the interval between first presentation and diagnosis over time, from 8.4 years for those presenting before 2005, to two years for those presenting after 2012. While diagnostic delay is decreasing, CPP, irrespective of aetiology, continues to have a significant negative impact on the lives of those affected.
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ItemCorrection: Dilated Thin-Walled Blood and Lymphatic Vessels in Human Endometrium: A Potential Role for VEGF-D in Progestin-Induced Break-Through Bleeding.(Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2021)[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0030916.].
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ItemActivin and follistatin interactions in the male reproductive tract: activin expression and morphological abnormalities in mice lacking follistatin 288(WILEY, 2017-05-01)Activin A is an important regulator of testicular and epididymal development and function, as well as inflammation and immunity. In the adult murine reproductive tract, activin A mRNA (Inhba) expression levels are highest in the caput epididymis and decrease progressively towards the distal vas deferens. The activin-binding protein, follistatin (FST), shows the opposite expression pattern, with exceptionally high levels of the Fst288 mRNA variant in the vas deferens. This unique pattern of expression suggests that activin A and follistatin, in particular FST288, play region-specific roles in regulating the epididymis and vas deferens. The cellular distribution of activin and follistatin and structural organization of the male reproductive tract was examined in wild-type and transgenic (TghFST315) mice lacking FST288. Compared to wild-type littermates, TghFST315 mice showed a 50% reduction in serum follistatin and a significant elevation of both activin A and B. Testicular, epididymal and seminal vesicle weights were reduced, but intra-testicular testosterone was normal. A decrease in the epididymal duct diameter in the corpus and thickening of the peritubular smooth muscle in the cauda, together with increased coiling of the proximal vas deferens, were observed in TghFST315 mice. No immune cell infiltrates were detected. Immunohistochemistry indicated that epithelial cells are the main source of activins and follistatin in the epididymis and vas deferens. Activin A, but not activin B, was also localized to sperm heads in the lumen of the epididymis and vas deferens. Expression of Inhba and another immunoregulatory gene, indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (Ido-1), was increased approximately twofold in the TghFST315 caput epididymis, but several other genes associated with immunoregulation, inflammation or fibrosis were unaffected. Our novel data indicate that disruption of follistatin expression has significant effects on the testis and epididymis, and suggest an association between activin A and indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase in the caput epididymis, with implications for the epididymal immunoenvironment.
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ItemInvestigating the care needs of those with endometriosis: Are we listening to the patients?(WILEY, 2019-10-16)What do women with endometriosis need? What are the things that would make their lives easier? Where are the gaps in their care? Questions like these can only be answered by women themselves. The development of an unmet needs survey for women with endometriosis would facilitate the design of patient-centred interventions to meet these needs and ultimately improve quality of life.
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ItemGenetic regulation of disease risk and endometrial gene expression highlights potential target genes for endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome(NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP, 2018-07-30)Gene expression varies markedly across the menstrual cycle and expression levels for many genes are under genetic control. We analyzed gene expression and mapped expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) in endometrial tissue samples from 229 women and then analyzed the overlap of endometrial eQTL signals with genomic regions associated with endometriosis and other reproductive traits. We observed a total of 45,923 cis-eQTLs for 417 unique genes and 2,968 trans-eQTLs affecting 82 unique genes. Two eQTLs were located in known risk regions for endometriosis including LINC00339 on chromosome 1 and VEZT on chromosome 12 and there was evidence for eQTLs that may be target genes in genomic regions associated with other reproductive diseases. Dynamic changes in expression of individual genes across cycle include alterations in both mean expression and transcriptional silencing. Significant effects of cycle stage on mean expression levels were observed for (2,427/15,262) probes with detectable expression in at least 90% of samples and for (2,877/9,626) probes expressed in some, but not all samples. Pathway analysis supports similar biological control of both altered expression levels and transcriptional silencing. Taken together, these data identify strong genetic effects on genes with diverse functions in human endometrium and provide a platform for better understanding genetic effects on endometrial-related pathologies.
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ItemRelaxin deficiency results in increased expression of angiogenesis- and remodelling-related genes in the uterus of early pregnant mice but does not affect endometrial angiogenesis prior to implantation(BIOMED CENTRAL LTD, 2016-03-22)BACKGROUND: Extensive uterine adaptations, including angiogenesis, occur prior to implantation in early pregnancy and are potentially regulated by the peptide hormone relaxin. This was investigated in two studies. First, we took a microarray approach using human endometrial stromal (HES) cells treated with relaxin in vitro to screen for target genes. Then we aimed to investigate whether or not relaxin deficiency in mice affected uterine expression of representative genes associated with angiogenesis and uterine remodeling, and also blood vessel proliferation in the pre-implantation mouse endometrium. METHODS: Normal HES cells were isolated and treated with recombinant human relaxin (10 ng/ml) for 24 h before microarray analysis. Reverse transcriptase PCR was used to analyze gene expression of relaxin and its receptor (Rxfp1) in ovaries and uteri; quantitative PCR was used to analyze steroid receptor, angiogenesis and extracellular matrix remodeling genes in the uteri of wild type (Rln+/+) and Rln-/- mice on days 1-4 of pregnancy. Immunohistochemistry localized endometrial endothelial cell proliferation and mass spectrometry measured steroid hormones in the plasma. RESULTS: Microarray analysis identified 63 well-characterized genes that were differentially regulated in HES cells after relaxin treatment. Expression of some of these genes was increased in the uterus of Rln+/+ mice by day 4 of pregnancy. There was significantly higher vascular endothelial growth factor A (VegfA), estrogen receptor 1 (Esr1), progesterone receptor (Pgr), Rxfp1, egl-9 family hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (Egln1), hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (Hif1α), matrix metalloproteinase 14 (Mmp14) and ankryn repeat domain 37 (Ankrd37) in Rln-/- compared to Rln+/+ mice on day 1. Progesterone receptor expression and plasma progesterone levels were higher in Rln-/- mice compared to Rln+/+ mice. However, endometrial angiogenesis was not advanced as pre-implantation endothelial cell proliferation did not differ between genotypes. CONCLUSIONS: Relaxin treatment modulates expression of a variety of angiogenesis-related genes in HES cells. However, despite accelerated uterine gene expression of steroid receptor, progesterone and angiogenesis and extracellular matrix remodeling genes in Rln-/- mice, there was no impact on angiogenesis. We conclude that although relaxin deficiency results in phenotypic changes in the pre-implantation uterus, endogenous relaxin does not play a major role in pre-implantation angiogenesis in the mouse uterus.
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ItemGenetic regulation of methylation in human endometrium and blood and gene targets for reproductive diseases(BMC, 2019-03-14)BACKGROUND: Major challenges in understanding the functional consequences of genetic risk factors for human disease are which tissues and cell types are affected and the limited availability of suitable tissue. The aim of this study was to evaluate tissue-specific genotype-epigenetic characteristics in DNA samples from both endometrium and blood collected from women at different stages of the menstrual cycle and relate results to genetic risk factors for reproductive traits and diseases. RESULTS: We analysed DNA methylation (DNAm) data from endometrium and blood samples from 66 European women. Methylation profiles were compared between stages of the menstrual cycle, and changes in methylation overlaid with changes in transcription and genotypes. We observed large changes in methylation (27,262 DNAm probes) across the menstrual cycle in endometrium that were not observed in blood. Individual genotype data was tested for association with methylation at 443,016 and 443,101 DNAm probes in endometrium and blood respectively to identify methylation quantitative trait loci (mQTLs). A total of 4546 sentinel cis-mQTLs (P < 1.13 × 10-10) and 434 sentinel trans-mQTLs (P < 2.29 × 10-12) were detected in endometrium and 6615 sentinel cis-mQTLs (P < 1.13 × 10-10) and 590 sentinel trans-mQTLs (P < 2.29 × 10-12) were detected in blood. Following secondary analyses, conducted to test for overlap between mQTLs in the two tissues, we found that 62% of endometrial cis-mQTLs were also observed in blood and the genetic effects between tissues were highly correlated. A number of mQTL SNPs were associated with reproductive traits and diseases, including one mQTL located in a known risk region for endometriosis (near GREB1). CONCLUSIONS: We report novel findings characterising genetic regulation of methylation in endometrium and the association of endometrial mQTLs with endometriosis risk and other reproductive traits and diseases. The high correlation of genetic effects between tissues highlights the potential to exploit the power of large mQTL datasets in endometrial research and identify target genes for functional studies. However, tissue-specific methylation profiles and genetic effects also highlight the importance of also using disease-relevant tissues when investigating molecular mechanisms of disease risk.
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ItemTissue specific regulation of transcription in endometrium and association with disease(OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 2020-02-01)STUDY QUESTION: Are genetic effects on endometrial gene expression tissue specific and/or associated with reproductive traits and diseases? SUMMARY ANSWER: Analyses of RNA-sequence data and individual genotype data from the endometrium identified novel and disease associated, genetic mechanisms regulating gene expression in the endometrium and showed evidence that these mechanisms are shared across biologically similar tissues. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: The endometrium is a complex tissue vital for female reproduction and is a hypothesized source of cells initiating endometriosis. Understanding genetic regulation specific to, and shared between, tissue types can aid the identification of genes involved in complex genetic diseases. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: RNA-sequence and genotype data from 206 individuals was analysed and results were compared with large publicly available datasets. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: RNA-sequencing and genotype data from 206 endometrial samples was used to identify the influence of genetic variants on gene expression, via expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis and to compare these endometrial eQTLs with those in other tissues. To investigate the association between endometrial gene expression regulation and reproductive traits and diseases, we conducted a tissue enrichment analysis, transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) and summary data-based Mendelian randomisation (SMR) analyses. Transcriptomic data was used to test differential gene expression between women with and without endometriosis. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: A tissue enrichment analysis with endometriosis genome-wide association study summary statistics showed that genes surrounding endometriosis risk loci were significantly enriched in reproductive tissues. A total of 444 sentinel cis-eQTLs (P < 2.57 × 10-9) and 30 trans-eQTLs (P < 4.65 × 10-13) were detected, including 327 novel cis-eQTLs in endometrium. A large proportion (85%) of endometrial eQTLs are present in other tissues. Genetic effects on endometrial gene expression were highly correlated with the genetic effects on reproductive (e.g. uterus, ovary) and digestive tissues (e.g. salivary gland, stomach), supporting a shared genetic regulation of gene expression in biologically similar tissues. The TWAS analysis indicated that gene expression at 39 loci is associated with endometriosis, including five known endometriosis risk loci. SMR analyses identified potential target genes pleiotropically or causally associated with reproductive traits and diseases including endometriosis. However, without taking account of genetic variants, a direct comparison between women with and without endometriosis showed no significant difference in endometrial gene expression. LARGE SCALE DATA: The eQTL dataset generated in this study is available at http://reproductivegenomics.com.au/shiny/endo_eqtl_rna/. Additional datasets supporting the conclusions of this article are included within the article and the supplementary information files, or are available on reasonable request. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Data are derived from fresh tissue samples and expression levels are an average of expression from different cell types within the endometrium. Subtle cell-specifc expression changes may not be detected and differences in cell composition between samples and across the menstrual cycle will contribute to sample variability. Power to detect tissue specific eQTLs and differences between women with and without endometriosis was limited by the sample size in this study. The statistical approaches used in this study identify the likely gene targets for specific genetic risk factors, but not the functional mechanism by which changes in gene expression may influence disease risk. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: Our results identify novel genetic variants that regulate gene expression in endometrium and the majority of these are shared across tissues. This allows analysis with large publicly available datasets to identify targets for female reproductive traits and diseases. Much larger studies will be required to identify genetic regulation of gene expression that will be specific to endometrium. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): This work was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) under project grants GNT1026033, GNT1049472, GNT1046880, GNT1050208, GNT1105321, GNT1083405 and GNT1107258. G.W.M is supported by a NHMRC Fellowship (GNT1078399). J.Y is supported by an ARC Fellowship (FT180100186). There are no competing interests.
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ItemVascular endothelial growth factor-D over-expressing tumor cells induce differential effects on uterine vasculature in a mouse model of endometrial cancer(BIOMED CENTRAL LTD, 2010-07-08)BACKGROUND: It has been hypothesised that increased VEGF-D expression may be an independent prognostic factor for endometrial cancer progression and lymph node metastasis; however, the mechanism by which VEGF-D may promote disease progression in women with endometrial cancer has not been investigated. Our aim was to describe the distribution of lymphatic vessels in mouse uterus and to examine the effect of VEGF-D over-expression on these vessels in a model of endometrial cancer. We hypothesised that VEGF-D over-expression would stimulate growth of new lymphatic vessels into the endometrium, thereby contributing to cancer progression. METHODS: We initially described the distribution of lymphatic vessels (Lyve-1, podoplanin, VEGFR-3) and VEGF-D expression in the mouse uterus during the estrous cycle, early pregnancy and in response to estradiol-17beta and progesterone using immunohistochemistry. We also examined the effects of VEGF-D over-expression on uterine vasculature by inoculating uterine horns in NOD SCID mice with control or VEGF-D-expressing 293EBNA tumor cells. RESULTS: Lymphatic vessels positive for the lymphatic endothelial cell markers Lyve-1, podoplanin and VEGFR-3 profiles were largely restricted to the connective tissue between the myometrial circular and longitudinal muscle layers; very few lymphatic vessel profiles were observed in the endometrium. VEGF-D immunostaining was present in all uterine compartments (epithelium, stroma, myometrium), although expression was generally low. VEGF-D immunoexpression was slightly but significantly higher in estrus relative to diestrus; and in estradiol-17beta treated mice relative to vehicle or progesterone treated mice. The presence of VEGF-D over-expressing tumor cells did not induce endometrial lymphangiogenesis, although changes were observed in existing vessel profiles. For myometrial lymphatic and endometrial blood vessels, the percentage of profiles containing proliferating endothelial cells, and the cross sectional area of vessel profiles were significantly increased in response to VEGF-D in comparison to control tumor cells. In contrast, no significant changes were noted in myometrial blood vessels. In addition, examples of invading cells or tumor emboli were observed in mice receiving VEGF-D expressing 293EBNA cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results illustrate that VEGF-D over-expression has differential effects on the uterine vasculature. These effects may facilitate VEGF-D's ability to promote endometrial cancer metastasis and disease progression.