Study Of The Levels Of IL-18 In Peritoneal Fluid And The Expression Of IL18RαmRNA And IL-18 In Endometriosis

Objective To study the concentrations of IL-18 in the peritoneal fluid and sera of endometriosis patients and the expression of IL-18 and IL-18RαmRNA in the eutopic and ectopic endometrium from women with endometriosis and the role of IL-18 in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.Methods The concentrations of IL-18 were measured in the peritoneal fluid and sera of 30 endometriosis patients and 20 control women by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method was employed to detect the expression of IL-18RαmRNA in the eutopic and ectopic endometrium from women with endometriosis (18 cases) and the normal controls(19 cases). Immunohistochemical method was employed to detect the expression of IL-18 in the eutopic and ectopic endometrium from women with endometriosis (18 cases) and the normal controls(19cases).Results 1. The IL-18 concentrations in the serum did not differ significantly between endometriosis patients and control patients(265.13±126.55pg/ml,274.00±117.18pg/ml,respectively).The concentrations of IL-18 in the peritoneal fluid of endometriosis patients averaged 349.42±191.05pg/ml, significantly higher than 248.11±120.98pg/ml in nonendometriotic samples, The concentrations of IL-18 in the peritoneal fluid of endometriosis patients with infertility was significantly higher,compared with non-infertility (401.37.±210.35pg/ml,259.69±110.57pg/ml,respectively).2. IL-18RαmRNA was found in all specimens. The expression of IL-18RαmRNA was significantly higher in ectopic endometrium from endometriosis patients, compared with those from eutopic endometrium of endometriosis and normal endometrium(6.29±3.92, 0.89...