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[Expression of major histocompatibility complex-class I antigen on endometrial stroma cells in patients with
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing University of Medical Sciences, 400016 Chongqing, China.
Objective:
To study the possible effect of major histocompatibility complex-class I (MHC-I) antigen on endometrial stromal cells in endometriosis patients.
Methods:
The stromal cells of endometrium was separated and cultured in vitro. gamma-interferon (gamma-IFN) was added to modulate the MHC-I antigen level which was assessed by flowcytometry, and the sensitivity of endometrial stromal cells to cytotoxic lymphocytes was examined by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT).
Results:
Our study demonstrated that in vitro cultured stromal cells with significant reduced MHC-I antigen levels showed enhanced susceptibility to lysis (51.28%) mediated by lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells, whereas gamma-IFN treated in vitro cultured stromal cells with restored MHC-I antigen levels showed more resistance to lysis (28.64%).
Conclusions:
MHC-I antigen on endometrial stromal cells may inhibit the cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) cells and NK-like T cells, which might play a key role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. The level of MHC-I antigen could be regulated by culture or some biologic factors such as gamma-IFN.