This $131,085 federal Project Grant awarded on September 5, 2024 by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under CFDA 93.865 (Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research) will support research at Stanford University to gain a better understanding of the role of uterine natural killer (UNK) cells in the endometrial immune microenvironment of women with endometriosis.
The key products and services to be delivered under this grant include:
Characterizing the inhibitory/activating receptor repertoire and functional capacity of UNK cells in women with and without endometriosis using single-cell RNA sequencing and mass cytometry techniques.
Examining the spatial organization of the endometrial immune microenvironment through imaging mass cytometry to provide insight into the underlying immune responses.
Establishing a menstrual blood immunoassay on the mass cytometry platform to identify UNK cell features that can accurately classify endometriosis versus control.
Developing an ex vivo endometrial assembloid model incorporating UNK cells to further investigate their role in abnormal endometrial tissue.
These efforts aim to uncover fundamental UNK cell mechanisms contributing to endometriosis pathobiology and lay the groundwork for developing non-invasive diagnostic tools for this debilitating reproductive disorder.