OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence of antiphospholipid antibodies in patients with proven endometriosis and apparently normal controls, and to evaluate the changes in profiles of humoral immune factors in endometriosis after treatment with gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa). METHODS: Sera of 92 patients with endometriosis, 40 patients without endometriosis and 128 normal male blood doners (normal controls) were tested for the presence of autoantibodies to six phospholipids (cardiolipin, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidyglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidic acid) and beta 2-glycoprotein I(GPI)- dependent anticardiolipin antibodies. Also, antiendometrial antibodies (AEA), antiphospholipid antibodies (APA), Immunoglobulin (Ig)G, IgA, IgM, complement C3, C4 and CA-125 were measured in 26 endometriosis patients before and after 3 months of GnRHa treatment. RESULTS: Eighteen (19.6%) patients with endometriosis had at least one of the APA compared with normal controls (8.3%). The prevalence of beta 2-GPI-dependent anticardiolipin antibodies was higher in patients with endometriosis than in normal controls. There were no significant changes in the positivity and levels of AEA and APA after GnRHa Treatment and the levels of immunoglobulins and complement showed similiar pattern. However, the numbers of patients with the level of CA-125 > 35 IU/ml, which is defined as the upper limit of normal level and the levels of CA-125 decreased. CONCLUSIONS: Around 20% of patients with endometriosis had APA and CA-125 measurement may be better than humoral factor tests in monitoring patients with endometriosis after GnRHa treatment.
Antibodies ; Antibodies, Anticardiolipin ; Antibodies, Antiphospholipid ; Autoantibodies ; Complement C3 ; Complement System Proteins ; Endometriosis* ; Female ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone* ; Gonadotropins* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A ; Immunoglobulin M ; Immunoglobulins ; Immunologic Factors ; Incidence ; Male ; Phosphatidylinositols ; Phospholipids ; Prevalence

We have previously demonstrated that specific antigens involved in autoimmunity in endometriosis may be endometrial proteins with molecular weight (mw) of 71, 92, and 103 kilodalton (kDa). The purposes of this study were to determine the incidence of IgG antibodies against these endometrial antigens in peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis and to evaluate the antigenic differences between the endometria of patients with and without endometriosis. Forty peritoneal fluid (PF) from 24 patients with endometriosis and 16 patients without endometriosis (control patients) were tested against endometrial protein from patients (n=8) with endometriosis and from control patients (n=10) by western blot. Fifteen (62.5%) of 24 PF samples from patients with endometriosis had specific Immunoglobuiin (Ig) G antibodies against one of three endometrial proteins with mw of 71, 92 and 103 kDa but none of PF samples from control patients had these antibodies. The electrophoretic pattern of endometrial proteins from patients with endometriosis was similar to that from control patients. Furthemore there was no significant difference in specific PF Immunoglobulin G binding to endometrial proteins regardless of origin of these proteins. Our data indicate that specific humoral immune response can be found in PF of patients with endometriosis and that specific antigens inducing this immune response are present in human endometrium and that there is no antigenic difference between the endometria of patients with and without endometriosis.
Antibodies* ; Ascitic Fluid* ; Autoimmunity ; Blotting, Western ; Endometriosis* ; Endometrium ; Female ; Humans ; Immunity, Humoral ; Immunoglobulin G ; Incidence ; Molecular Weight