Association of natural killer T cells with staging of endometriosis.
- Author:
Saiqun GUO
1
;
Ying ZHANG
;
Lifeng WANG
;
Wenshan QIU
Author Information
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- MeSH: Case-Control Studies; Endometriosis; metabolism; pathology; Female; Flow Cytometry; Humans; Interferon-gamma; blood; Interleukin-4; blood; Natural Killer T-Cells; metabolism
- From: Journal of Southern Medical University 2012;32(9):1322-1324
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVETo investigate the role of natural killer T cells (NKT) in the pathogenesis and staging of endometriosis (EMT).
METHODSSixty EMT cases of stages I to IV were enrolled as the observation group, and 20 healthy volunteers served as the control group. NKT percentages in the peripheral blood and peritoneal effusions were detected by flow cytometry, and the levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) were examined using ELISA.
RESULTSCompared with the control group, EMT group showed significantly lowered NKT percentages and IFN-γ and IL-4 levels in both the peripheral blood and peritoneal effusions (P<0.05). In EMT patients, NKT percentages, IFN-γ and IL-4 levels all increased significantly with the stage of EMT in the order of I>II>III>IV (P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that NKT, IFN-γ and IL-4 were all inversely correlated with the stage of EMT (r>0.06, P<0.05).
CONCLUSIONAs a protective factor against EMT, NKT, together with its cytokines IFN-γ and IL-4, play an important role in EMT and is closely correlated with EMT staging.
