According to a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, bacterial infections can lead to endometriosis, a gynecological disorder that affects one in 10 women between the age of 15 and 49.

Researchers from Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan, showed that using an antibiotic to target Fusobacterium reduced the formation of lesions associated with endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a painful gynecological disorder characterized by the growth of endometrial tissue that usually lines the inside of the uterus outside the uterus. Endometriosis most commonly involves the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and the tissue lining the pelvis and can cause pelvic pain and infertility.

In the study, the researchers found that the uterus of test subjects infected with Fusobacterium had more and heavier lesions. They also found that test subjects who were given an antibiotic to eradicate Fusobacterium showed improved lesion formation.

They also found that the production of a protein called transgelin (TAGLN) was upregulated in patients with endometriosis. The study’s lead author explained that this protein is essential in developing endometriosis.

However, the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) was associated with the upregulation of TAGLN. He noted that macrophages, the natural anti-inflammatory response and immune regulation cells of the body, release TGF-beta. 

(Source:https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1091104 )