The role of Dickkopf-1 protein, an antagonist of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, in endometriosis

Introduction: Endometriosis is a benign gynecologic disease characterized by endometrial-like tissue (epithelium and stroma) outside the uterus. It affects primarily women of reproductive age and presents with pelvic pain and infertility. As such, it has significant socio-economic implications for individuals and society as a whole. The pathophysiology of endometriosis is likely to be multifactorial and to involve interplay between several factors including factors involved in cell adhesion. The Wnt genes and the Wnt signal transduction pathways are evolutionarily conserved and play a crucial role in cell prolif…