RESUMO
PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to estimate the myeloid and lymphoid subpopulation of dendritic cells (DCs) in the peritoneal fluid (PF) of women with ovarian tumors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied 34 patients with serous cystadenocarcinoma and 29 women with serous cystadenoma. Dendritic cells were isolated from peritoneal fluid, stained with monoclonal antibodies anti-BDCA-1 and anti-BDCA-2 and estimated using flow cytometry. RESULTS: Peritoneal fluid myeloid DCs constituted 0.59% of mononuclear cells in patients with ovarian cancer and 7.2% in women with serous cystadenoma. Lymphoid DCs constituted 0.39% of PF mononuclears in women with ovarian cancer and 0.07% in patients with serous cystadenoma. The percentage of lymphoid DCs was higher in patients with ovarian cancer than in women with serous cystadenoma. The BDCA-1/BDCA-2 DCs ratio in peritoneal fluid of patients with serous cystadenoma was significantly higher in comparison to ovarian cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased BDCA-1/BDCA-2 DCs ratio in patients with ovarian cancer may favour Th2 lymphocyte differentiation and/or induction of immunological tolerance.