Role of IL-18 in pathogenesis of endometriosis

Oku H, H Oku, Hirosuke Oku, Tsuji Y, Y Tsuji, Kashiwamura SI, S-I Kashiwamura, Adachi S, S Adachi, A Kubota, Kubota A, Okamura H, H Okamura, Koyama K, K Koyama
Human Reproduction · 2004 · vol. 19(3) , pp. 709–714 · doi:10.1093/humrep/deh108 · PMID:14998974 · W2161738087
Other OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 35 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This study found that elevated peritoneal fluid IL-18 in endometriosis patients induces COX-II expression in monocytes and endometriotic cells, indicating a pathogenic role for IL-18.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a complex disease associated with a wide range of immune responses, including pain, adhesion, exudation of peritoneal fluid, elevation of cytokine levels and generation of autoantibodies. Interleukin (IL)-18 is a strong pleiotropic cytokine known to be involved in various immune diseases. The aim of this study is to elucidate the role of IL-18 in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. METHODS: IL-18 and IL-1beta concentrations were measured in the peritoneal fluid and sera of 39 endometriosis patients and 15 control women. Expression of IL-18 and IL-18 receptor alpha-chain (IL-18Ralpha) was analysed in endometriotic tissues immunohistochemically. The effects of IL-18 on cyclooxygenase (COX)-II gene expression were analysed in peritoneal fluid monocytes and endometriotic cells of endometriosis patients. RESULTS: IL-18 concentrations in the peritoneal fluid of endometriosis patients averaged 592.57 +/- 108.27 pg/ml, significantly higher than 260.50 +/- 55.88 pg/ml in non-endometriotic samples. IL-18 concentrations in the serum did not differ significantly between endometriosis and control patients. Similarly, no significant differences were observed in IL-1beta concentrations in either the peritoneal fluid or the serum. IL-18 and IL-18Ralpha were expressed in endometriotic tissues. IL-18Ralpha expression was also observed in cells infiltrating into the inflammatory area of the endometriosis patients. COX-II was induced in peritoneal fluid monocytes and in endometriotic cells in response to IL-18 stimulation. CONCLUSIONS: The elevation of IL-18 in the peritoneal fluid of endometriosis patients and the induction of COX-II in peritoneal monocytes by IL-18 suggest that IL-18 plays a pathogenic role in endometriosis.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Interleukin-18 Receptors, Interleukin Adult Adult Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Cyclooxygenase 2 Cyclooxygenase 2 Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Enzyme Induction Enzyme Induction Female Female Humans

Citation neighborhood (2-hop)

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. Outer rings show 2-hop neighbours — papers reached through the immediate citers/citees. [ collapse to 1-hop ]

References (18)

Cited by (36)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-10-15T06:08:49.021275+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-10-08T21:02:24.140261+00:00
unpaywall
last seen: 2026-10-15T06:24:24.424788+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK