Peritoneal and peripheral B-1-cell populations in patients with endometriosis
F Chishima1, S Hayakawa, Y Hirata
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency of B-1 cells in the peritoneal cavity and peripheral blood of patients with endometriosis.
Materials And Methods:
We examined 31 patients with endometriosis and 14 normal nonpregnant women. Peripheral blood cells and peritoneal exudate cells (PECs) were stained with FITC or PE-labeled anti-CD5/CD19 monoclonal antibodies. Immunofluorescence analysis was performed using a flow cytometer. The significance of differences between the patient and control groups was determined by the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test.
Results:
There was no significant difference in the percentages of B-1 cells in the peripheral blood of women with and without endometriosis (median, 22.7%; range, 4.7-92.3% vs median, 20.05%; range, 11.1-12.6%, respectively). Endometriosis patients with antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) demonstrated significantly elevated B-1 cells compared to both endometriosis patients without ANAs and normal controls (p < 0.005 and p < 0.05, respectively). Endometriosis patients demonstrated significantly higher B-1 cell populations (B-1 cells/total B-cell ratio) in PECs than did non-endometriosis patients (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
The peripheral B-1-cell population in patients with endometriosis is related to ANA production. B-1 cells might play important roles in the development of endometriosis through autoantibody production.
