Endometriosis is a benign disease characterized by having cells from endometrium, the lining of the uterus, found outside of the uterus. The Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) has been found to be aberrantly activated in various diseases such as Ovarian Cancer and Endometriosis. The Walker Lab has discovered that STAT3 is necessary for mesothelial clearance by Ovarian Cancer spheroids, but it was unknown if Endometriosis cells could also form spheroids and if they could perform mesothelial clearance.
Our results show that Endometriosis cells are able to form spheroids that can clear the mesothelial layer, and that STAT3 is necessary for this process to occur. Furthermore, we have shown that potential STAT3 inhibitors and potential BCL-6 inhibitors appear to reduce the amount of clearance done by these Endometriosis spheroids.