Endometriosis cell targeting peptide and uses thereof

1. A composition comprising a targeting peptide that selectively binds an endometriosis cell, wherein the targeting peptide comprises at least 9 amino acids, wherein the targeting peptide has at least 70% sequence identity with SEQ ID NO:3, wherein any variation from SEQ ID NO:3 is a conservative amino acid substitution, and wherein the targeting peptide is 50 amino acids in length or less.

2. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the targeting peptide comprises the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:3.

3. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the targeting peptide has at least 80% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:3.

4. The composition of claim 3 , wherein the targeting peptide has at least 85% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:3.

5. The composition of claim 4 , wherein the targeting peptide has at least 90% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:3.

6. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the targeting peptide comprises an amino acid segment having at least 85% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:3.

7. The composition of claim 1 , further comprising a known effector molecule.

8. The composition of claim 7 , wherein the effector molecule is a small molecule, pharmaceutical drug, toxin, fatty acid, detectable marker, conjugating tag, nanoshell, or enzyme.

9. The composition of claim 7 , wherein the effector molecule is covalently linked to the targeting peptide.

10. The composition of claim 9 , wherein the effector molecule is linked to the amino terminal end of the targeting peptide.

11. The composition of claim 9 , wherein the effector molecule is linked to the carboxy terminal end of the targeting peptide.

12. The composition of claim 9 , wherein the effector molecule is linked to an amino acid within the targeting peptide.

13. The composition of claim 7 , further comprising a linker connecting the effector molecule and targeting peptide.

14. The composition of claim 1 , further comprising a progestational agent.

15. The composition of claim 1 , further comprising a Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), GnRH analog, or GnRH agonist.

16. The composition of claim 1 , further comprising an aromatase inhibitor.

17. The composition of claim 1 , further comprising a narcotic.

18. The composition of claim 1 , further comprising a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).

19. The composition of claim 1 , further comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

20. A method comprising administering to a subject a composition comprising the composition of claim 1 , wherein the subject has or can have endometriosis, endometriosis cells, or both, wherein the composition further comprises an effector molecule, wherein the effector molecule is a detectable marker, a small molecule or pharmaceutical drug, or both.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the subject comprises a cell, wherein the cell is an endometriosis cell.

22. A method of detecting endometriosis in a subject, the method comprising administering to the subject the composition of claim 1 and detecting the composition in the subject, thereby detecting endometriosis, wherein the subject has or can have endometriosis, wherein the composition further comprises an effector molecule, wherein the effector molecule is a detectable marker.

23. A method of diagnosing endometriosis in a subject, the method comprising administering to the subject the composition of claim 1 and detecting the composition in the subject, thereby diagnosing endometriosis in the subject, wherein the subject has or can have endometriosis, wherein the composition further comprises an effector molecule, wherein the effector molecule is a detectable marker.

24. A method of determining the prognosis of endometriosis in a subject, the method comprising administering to the subject the composition of claim 1 and detecting the composition in the subject, wherein the level, amount, concentration, or a combination of binding of the composition to endometriosis tissue in the subject indicates the prognosis of the endometriosis in the subject, wherein the subject has endometriosis, wherein the composition further comprises an effector molecule, wherein the effector molecule is a detectable marker.

25. A method of determining the progress of endometriosis in a subject, the method comprising administering to the subject the composition of claim 1 , detecting the composition in the subject, and repeating the administration and detection at a later time, wherein a change in the level, amount, concentration, or a combination of binding of the composition to endometriosis tissue in the subject indicates the progress of the endometriosis in the subject, wherein the subject has endometriosis, wherein the composition further comprises an effector molecule, wherein the effector molecule is a detectable marker.

26. A method of determining the progress treatment of endometriosis in a subject, the method comprising administering to the subject the composition of claim 1 , detecting the composition in the subject, and repeating the administration and detection following treatment, wherein a change in the level, amount, concentration, or a combination of binding of the composition to endometriosis tissue in the subject indicates the progress the treatment of the endometriosis in the subject, wherein the subject has endometriosis, wherein the composition further comprises an effector molecule, wherein the effector molecule is a detectable marker.

27. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the targeting peptide comprises the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:3.

28. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the targeting peptide has at least 89% sequence identity to the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:3.

29. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the amino acid at position 5 is asparagine or a conservative variant thereof, or aspartic acid or a conservative variant thereof, wherein the amino acid at position 7 is leucine or a conservative variant thereof, or arginine or a conservative variant thereof.

30. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the amino acid at position 5 is asparagine, aspartic acid, glutamine, glutamic acid, or histidine, wherein the amino acid at position 7 is leucine, arginine, isoleucine, valine, lysine, or glutamine.

31. The composition of claim 1 , wherein the amino acids at position 5 and 7, respectively, are asparagine and arginine or aspartic acid and leucine.