EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF ENDOMETRIOSIS: SCIENTOMETRIC ANALYSIS AND LITERATURE REVIEW

Pain and infertility are the most common symptoms of endometriosis (EMS), a gynecological disorder defined as the development of endometrial cells outside the uterus. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are physiologically active granules that carry molecular content with both diagnostic and therapeutic implications in intercellular communication. We performed a systematic review based on the 2020 PRISMA guidelines to investigate the role of EVs in EMS. On March 3th, 2024, the keywords “endometriosis”, “extracellular vesicles”, “EV”, or “EVs”, along with the terms “treatment”, “monitoring”, or “diagnosis”, were used to search three databases (Medline, PubMed and Scopus). Articles published in English between 2019 and 2024 were counted. 170 EMS patients from 14 studies were included in the analysis. Samples of EVs of various origins were investigated to find possible relevance in the pathophysiology and their diagnostic and therapeutic implications. The most often analyzed cargo were microRNAs. The possible contribution of EVs to pathophysiology has been examined in a number of studies, with an emphasis on their roles in inflammation, angiogenesis, immunomodulation, cell communication, and proliferation. The reports indicated the involvement of EVs in numerous signaling pathways, including the MAP, WNT, TNF and PI3K-AKT pathways.