Expansion of monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells in endometriosis patients: A pilot study

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammation disease and is closely associated with immune dysregulation. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a negative regulator of the immune system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible role of MDSCs in endometriosis patients. We collected the peripheral blood and peritoneal fluid from endometriosis patients and controls and analyzed M-MDSCs level using specific monoclonal antibodies recognizing HLA-DR, CD33, CD11b, CD14 markers by flow cytometry. We found that there existed abnormal expansion of monocytic MDSCs (M-MDSCs) (HLA-DR^-/lowCD33⁺CD11b⁺ CD14⁺) in peripheral blood and peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis. Functional studies revealed that M-MDSCs from endometriosis patients significantly suppressed T-cell responses and produced high level of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The elevation of M-MDSCs from endometriosis patients may contribute to the disease progression.