Abstract
It has recently become apparent that peritoneal fluid and its cellular and humoral constituents are associated with the pathophysiology of pelvic endo metriosis. We examined the expression of cytokine genes in peritoneal mononuclear cells obtained from 53 patients with and without pelvic endometriosis by using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. We also analyzed the levels of interleukin (IL) -1β and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) messenger RNAs (mRNAs) on Northern blots, and deter mined the level of IL-1β in peritoneal fluids.
The peritoneal mononuclear cells expressed frequently the mRNAs for IL-1β, IL-1ra and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) . There was no difference between the patients with endometriosis and those without endometriosis in the expression rate of all the genes analyzed. The level of IL-1β mRNA expression in peritoneal macrophages was elevated in the stage I pelvic endometriosis group, whereas the increased expression of IL-1ra mRNA was observed in the stages 1ff and N pelvic endometriosis group. The level of IL-1β in peritoneal fluid was elevated in the stage I pelvic endometriosis group, and stage II pelvic endometriosis group.
Our results indicate that peritoneal mononuclear cells express mainly monokine genes such as IL-1β, IL-1ra and TNF, and that peritoneal macrophages express IL-1ra mRNA rather than IL-1β mRNA with the progress of pelvic endometriosis. IL-1 in peritoneal fluid may be responsible for the adhesions and infertility associated with pelvic endometriosis.
