Endometriosis is a potentially chronic, gynecological disease that can affect several organs and affects up to 10% of all women of childbearing age. For unknown reasons, the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterine cavity and leads to complications such as severe pain and infertility. Treatment is currently limited by often very late diagnosis and resistance to therapy.
The ENDO-RELIEF project combines state-of-the-art basic research methods with clinical questions about why and how endometriosis develops and which factors lead to a relapse. We also want to learn more about the interaction of endometriosis lesions with the tissue environment and the immune system. This should help to explain the mechanisms of organ damage caused by this disease and improve the response to therapy.
The NMI is responsible for the sub-project on the use of non-invasive imaging of organoids and organ-on-chip technologies for modeling and monitoring the pathogenesis of endometriosis in vitro. The basis for this is a tissue and database, which is being successively expanded by the collaboration partner at the University Women's Hospital in Tübingen. These will be used to develop artificial patient models of endometriosis in order to model the development and progression of the disease in a test system relevant to humans. These models are accessible to advanced, non-invasive imaging techniques (e.g. Raman microspectroscopy), which should enable the investigation of endometriosis development. The aim is to understand the effects of tissue composition on the growth and prognosis of the disease.
In order to use these findings for the development of new treatment strategies, the interaction with the immune system is also being investigated. This comprehensive characterization of endometriosis should contribute to the individualized and improved treatment of patients. By knowing which lesions need to be treated, surgical interventions can be avoided or minimized. In addition, the research could provide the basis for optimizing hormone therapies and novel antibody treatments or vaccines.
Group Leader Biophotonics & Spectroscopy