Epigenetics: an emerging research field of infertility associated with endometriosis

Endometriosis is a common gynecologic disease, which is characterized by the presence of uterine endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. It is associated with several complications, including pelvic pain, dysmenorrheal and infertility. Endometriosis has drawn wide attention due to its close involvement of infertility in various ways. There are several factors hindering gynecological doctors managing the disease, and therefore novel clues of diagnosis and treatment are largely demanded. Although several previous studies indicated that endometriosis was related with disorder of hormone, immunity, and genetics, and could be caused by overexposure to environmental toxins, and even it was a stem cell disease, our understanding of its etiopathogenesis, especially in infertility, is still inadequate. Endometriosis remains to be an enigmatic disease. Recently, there are an increasing number of studies focusing on epigenetics, a potential common denominator for hormonal and immunological aberrations in endometriosis. Moreover, epigenetics was indicated to be more creditable than genetics in explaining the etiopathogenesis by several studies. The present paper mainly focused on the latest insights into the present and potential contribution of epigenetics in the etiology of infertility associated with endometriosis, aiming to update the current knowledge and explore potential approaches for treatments of this enigmatic disease. All these data with clinical implications can provide new clues for therapeutic applications.