ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease with the growth of endometrial cells out of uterus and in the peritoneal cavity. T cell subsets participate in the establishment and progress of the disease by producing different cytokines. OBJECTIVE: To investigate a group of cytokines related to Th1/Th2/Th17/Treg subsets within both peripheral blood and peritoneal fluid (PF) samples from infertile endometriosis women. METHODS: Peripheral blood and PF samples were collected from 30 infertile endometriosis and 30 non-endometriosis fertile women during laparoscopy. Concentration of cytokines, including TNF-α, IFN-γ, TGF-ß1, IL-4, IL-10, IL-17 and IL-23 were evaluated using ELISA method. RESULTS: Results indicated that the concentration of IFN-γ within serum was significantly reduced in endometriosis group (p=0.001). Regarding PF cytokines, TGF-ß1 was increased in endometriosis group (p=0.030). Furthermore, the ratios of IFN-γ/TGF-ß1 and IL-17/IL-23 were significantly different between endometriosis and non-endometriosis women in serum samples (p<0.001 and p<0.01 respectively). The ratios of TNF-α/IL-10 and IL-17/IL-10 were also significantly different regarding PF samples between the two studied groups (p<0.04 and p<0.03 respectively). Finally, significant correlations were observed between the levels of IL-17 and IL-23, inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, in both samples and serum to PF inflammatory cytokines. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of the present study, in women with endometriosis, the disturbance of cytokines network might gradually activate the inflammatory responses and tissue repair, resulting in endometriosis development after several years.