The Role of Galectins in the Non-invasive Diagnosis of Endometriosis

Plain-language summary

Endometriosis is one of the most common infertility-related gynecologic disorder that affect approximately 10-15% of women in reproductive age. The main symptoms are chronic pelvic pain, infertility, dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia. There exists an average diagnostic delay of 7 year but data widely varies between different countries. The current "gold standard" in the diagnosis of endometriosis remains a laparoscopy. Since laparoscopy is an invasive surgical procedure with its potential risk, the development of a non-invasive laboratory test would be of great benefit in the early, clinical management of this diseaseIn the past few years, lectins have become the focus of reproductive immunology, inflammation and autoimmunity. Galectins (Gal) are beta-galactoside binding lectins that play a key role in the regulation of the immune system, cell growth, adhesion, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. Until now 13 different types of galectins have been found in humans, among them Gal-1-4, 7-9 and 12 were detected in the normal endometrium. So far only Gal-1 and Gal-3 have been studied in relation to endometriosis. In a recent pilot study, the investigators have shown that Gal-9 levels are significantly elevated in the serum of endometriosis patients compared to healthy controls. Gal-9 had a high sensitivity (94%) and specificity (93,75%), indicating better diagnostic potential than that of other endometriosis biomarkers and of surgery as the current gold standard.

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