The MiMEndo project aims to provide new insights into the relationship between endometriosis, the human microbiome, and the metabolome, which can be used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The main goal is to develop the basis for a fast, accurate, and non-invasive test or a set of biomarkers for the early diagnosis of endometriosis and to make it marketable in the medium term.

Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases in girls and women. The nationwide crude diagnosis prevalence rose from 5.7 per 1,000 girls and women in 2012 to 9.5 in 2022. This corresponds to a relative increase of 65 percent. The causes of endometriosis and, in particular, its interaction with the digestive tract and the associated symptoms (pain, constipation, etc.) are unclear. 

As part of the MiMEndo project, the vaginal and intestinal microbiome of pathologically well-characterized endometriosis patients will be comprehensively characterized for the first time in terms of structure and function (gene expression, metabolic profiles, interaction with the enteric nervous system). This will lay the foundation for diagnosing endometriosis more quickly and accurately than before using microbial biomarkers and/or typical dysbiotic signatures. Depending on the results, the microbiome and functional data collected may also form the basis for therapeutic approaches, e.g., targeted modulation of intestinal motility for pain prevention using probiotic bacteria that stimulate the enteric nervous system.