A Study of Peritoneal Immunocompetent Cells in External Genital Endometriosis
Natalia Yu. Sotnikova1, Yulia S. Antsiferova, Lyubov V. Posiseeva
1Research Institute of Maternal and Childhood, Ivanovo, Russia.
Insights
Endometriosis alters peritoneal immune cells, increasing CD25 and HLA DR expression while decreasing Fas expression on T lymphocytes. Macrophage secretions impair T lymphocyte apoptosis, suggesting a role in endometriosis pathogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Gynecology
Background:
- Endometriosis is a complex gynecological condition.
- Peritoneal immune cell dysregulation is implicated in endometriosis pathogenesis.
- The role of peritoneal macrophages in local immune responses requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate peritoneal lymphoid cell activation in women with endometriosis.
- To explore the contribution of peritoneal macrophage secretory products to immune cell modulation in endometriosis.
Main Methods:
- Two-color flow cytometry was used to analyze peritoneal fluid immune cells from women with and without endometriosis.
- Peritoneal macrophages from women with endometriosis were cultured, and their supernatant effects on donor lymphocytes were assessed.
Main Results:
- Women with endometriosis exhibited higher CD25 and HLA DR expression and lower Fas expression on CD3(+) T lymphocytes.
- Supernatant from endometriosis-associated peritoneal macrophages induced CD25 expression on CD4(+) T cells and decreased Fas expression on both CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells.
- These effects were independent of TNF-alpha production by the macrophages.
Conclusions:
- Endometriosis is associated with altered peritoneal T lymphocyte activation and impaired Fas-mediated apoptosis.
- Secretory products of peritoneal macrophages in endometriosis may contribute to T lymphocyte dysfunction.
- These findings suggest a novel mechanism involving macrophage-lymphocyte interactions in endometriosis pathogenesis.
Abstract:
The aim of the present investigation was to study the peculiarities of peritoneal lymphoid cell activation at the local level during external endometriosis and the possible role of secretory products of peritoneal macrophages in this process. Immunocompetent cells of peritoneal fluid from 16 women with endometriosis and 14 healthy women were studied by two-color flow cytometry method. It was found that endometriosis was associated with high level of expression of CD25 and HLA DR molecules and diminishment of Fas expression by CD3(+) subset of peritoneal lymphocytes. Experimentally it was established that supernatant of 24-h culture of peritoneal macrophages from women with endometriosis induced the expression of CD25 marker by CD4(+) but not CD8(+) cells and decreased Fas expression by both cell subsets in donor lymphocytes. It can be supposed that altered secretory function of peritoneal macrophages in situ impair the apoptosis of activated clones of T lymphocytes. Observed effect of macrophage secretory products was not associated with TNF-alpha production by peritoneal macrophages in the process of their cultivation.
