Constitutive or induced elevated levels of L-carnitine correlate with the cytokine and cellular profile of endometriosis

E Dionyssopoulou, Eva Dionyssopoulou, Vassiliadis S, S. Vassiliadis, A Evangeliou, Athanasios Evangeliou, Koumantakis EE, E E Koumantakis, E Koumantakis, Athanassakis I, I Athanassakis, Irene Athanassakis
Journal of Reproductive Immunology · 2005 · vol. 65(2) , pp. 159–170 · doi:10.1016/j.jri.2004.12.002 · PMID:15811520 · W2052011865
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Elevated l-carnitine levels, whether constitutive or induced, were found to be associated with specific cytokine and cellular profiles in endometriosis.

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Abstract

During the past decade, accumulated evidence indicates an association between endometriosis and an alteration of humoral and cell-mediated immunity. While the role of L-carnitine in the regulation of energy metabolism is well established, it is only recently that L-carnitine has been recognized to modify the immune response in mice after in vitro or in vivo treatment. The present study has examined whether administration of L-carnitine to young female mice alters the percentage of immune cells in peritoneal exudates and the uterus as well as the levels of IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, VEGF, GM-CSF and IGF-I in blood serum, peritoneal fluid and supernatants of uterine cultured cells as tested by immunofluorescence or ELISA techniques, respectively, leading to a pathological disorder resembling human endometriosis. The results showed that, except from infertility, L-carnitine treatment resulted in a significant increase of macrophages and to a lesser degree an increase of T-cells, while elevated levels of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha were detected in both serum and peritoneal fluid compared to controls. Although levels of L-carnitine measured in mouse serum samples using a radioisotopic method showed an increase as compared to controls, levels of acyl-L-carnitine measured in the murine peritoneal fluid samples showed a decrease similar to that measured in peritoneal fluid samples from patients with endometriosis in stage IV of the disease. These results indicate that L-carnitine administration to female mice alters the cellular and growth factor profile in the uterus and peritoneum towards a phenotypical pathology similar to that of clinical endometriosis.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Ascitic Fluid Carnitine Cytokines Endometriosis Uterus Animals Animals Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Carnitine Carnitine Carnitine Cells, Cultured Cells, Cultured Cytokines Cytokines Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis

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