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A recently patented invention holds promise for understanding a debilitating disease that affects two million women in the UK.

The natural state for woman during the child-bearing years is either pregnant or lactating. It is only with the introduction of birth control and a decrease in infant mortality that a modern woman can control her fertility and also expect to see her children reach adulthood.

Modern women will on average experience a total of 400 menstrual cycles. This is an unnatural state for women, as Dr Stephen Charnock-Jones, from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, explained: ’The natural state for woman during the child-bearing years is either pregnant or lactating. It is only with the introduction of birth control and a decrease in infant mortality that a modern woman can control her fertility and also expect to see her children reach adulthood.’

For many women, this increase in menstrual cycles is associated with additional distress due to endometriosis, a disease in which endometrial tissue – the lining of the uterus – also occurs outside the uterine cavity, most commonly within the pelvis. Endometriosis is found at a higher frequency in patients presenting with infertility.

The wide range of symptoms make it difficult either to define the underlying cause or to identify a model that drug companies could use to develop drugs. Ethical considerations limit research in humans and primates; although some mouse models exist, each has significant limitations and, as a result, disease studies are difficult to undertake and results are hard to interpret.

Dr Charnock-Jones and colleagues have generated a novel endometriosis allograft mouse model, recently patented through Cambridge Enterprise Ltd, in which cells are sourced from a genetically modified mouse and transplanted into another mouse. After implantation, the hormone-treated endometrial tissue grows and the recipient mouse develops characteristic endometriosis lesions and associated blood vessels.

For the first time, this model of endometriosis reproduces the mechanism that is thought to underlie the human disease, allowing scientists to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible. This is a significant step forward as the model will help in the screening and development of new therapeutics.

A solution will not be found overnight. The condition imposes a significant burden on the sufferer because surgical and medical treatments are only moderately effective. However, for the millions of women who suffer worldwide, there is now a glimmer of hope.

If you are an employee of the University and would like advice on the patentability and commercial opportunities for your invention, please contact Cambridge Enterprise (Tel: +44 (0)1223 760339; email: enquiries@enterprise.cam. ac.uk;www.enterprise.cam.ac.uk).


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