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Published on: April 5, 2024
Targeting the Immune Network in Endometriosis: A Comprehensive Review of Pathogenesis, Immunomodulation, and Emerging
Yukun Mo1,2, Meiye Li1,2, Wei Ye1,2
1Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Birth Defect Prevention and Control, Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Women and Children's Medical Center, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen 518000, China.
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the ectopic growth of endometrial-like tissue and is closely associated with pain and infertility. This review summarizes current evidence on immune dysregulation and emerging immunomodulatory therapies in endometriosis. Relevant clinical and mechanistic studies were identified through a structured literature review and qualitatively synthesized. Increasing evidence suggests that immune dysregulation plays a critical role in disease pathogenesis. Within the immune microenvironment, innate and adaptive immune cells-including macrophages, dendritic cells, neutrophils, mast cells, T cells, and B cells-collectively promote inflammation, angiogenesis, fibrosis, and immune evasion. Emerging immunotherapeutic strategies, including macrophage repolarization, NK cell restoration, dendritic cell modulation, neutrophil extracellular traps inhibition, immune checkpoint blockade, and cytokine/chemokine targeting, have shown promising preclinical and early clinical potential. However, disease heterogeneity, reproductive safety concerns, and the lack of validated biomarkers remain major barriers to clinical translation, highlighting the potential of immunomodulatory therapies as future non-hormonal treatment strategies.
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the ectopic growth of endometrial-like tissue and is closely associated with pain and infertility. This review summarizes current evidence on immune dysregulation and emerging immunomodulatory therapies in endometriosis. Relevant clinical and mechanistic studies were identified through a structured literature review and qualitatively synthesized. Increasing evidence suggests that immune dysregulation plays a critical role in disease pathogenesis. Within the immune microenvironment, innate and adaptive immune cells-including macrophages, dendritic cells, neutrophils, mast cells, T cells, and B cells-collectively promote inflammation, angiogenesis, fibrosis, and immune evasion. Emerging immunotherapeutic strategies, including macrophage repolarization, NK cell restoration, dendritic cell modulation, neutrophil extracellular traps inhibition, immune checkpoint blockade, and cytokine/chemokine targeting, have shown promising preclinical and early clinical potential. However, disease heterogeneity, reproductive safety concerns, and the lack of validated biomarkers remain major barriers to clinical translation, highlighting the potential of immunomodulatory therapies as future non-hormonal treatment strategies.
