Last week’s hot topic on endometriosis was Endometriosis Study Could Shed Light on Cause of Condition, Help Lead to Treatments written by Alisa Woods.

This article is focused on a new study out of Wuhan, China, which may help uncover the causes of endometriosis. According to the report, a specific cellular pathway called the Wnt/β-catenin pathway could induce matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) expression, which in turn may cause endometriosis. MMP-9 is a type of enzyme involved in several different biological functions.

Researchers have uncovered an increasingly clear role of MMPs in tumor development. Decreases in MMPs have been associated with the inhibition of tumor cell invasion. Although endometriosis is a benign condition, it has some common features with cancerous tumors since it involves invasive tissue growth. The study sheds light on a possible cause of endometriosis and could lay the groundwork for potential new treatments for endometriosis that specifically target β- catenin and MMP-9.

Read the latest news on endometriosis here: http://bit.ly/learnEndometriosis