Division of Reproductive Biology Research

The focus of the Marsh lab is the study of the pathogenesis of leiomyomas. These benign uterine tumors, more commonly known as fibroids, represent the most common tumors seen in reproductive-age women. They have a prevalence of 65-70% in Caucasian women by the age of 50 and 80-85% in African-American women by the age of 50. Despite being benign (non-cancerous) these tumors continue to be the leading cause of hysterectomy in the United States. While these tumors are very common, very little is known about their etiology or pathogenesis. What we do know is that they are sex steroid (estrogen and progesterone) responsive and have an extensive extracellular matrix relative to normal adjacent myometrium. Using a number of different experimental models, the Marsh lab focuses on the following:

• the ability of leiomyomas to create a growth-promoting sex steroid environment for themselves and the effects of sex steroids in gene regulation
• the differences in extracellular matrix components between the diseased tissue (leiomyoma) and normal tissue (myometrium)
• the differential regulation of extracellular matrix components between leiomyoma and myometrium