Role of interleukine-8 in the pathogenesis of endometriosis

Objective: To determine the expression of IL-8 in endometriosis. Methods: Thirty-six patients with endometriosis (EM) were selected as study group. Twenty patients without endometriosis served as control group. IL-8 concentrations in peritoneal fluid and serum of both groups were detected by enzyme linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA). The differences of IL-8 mRNA expression in eutopic endometrium of patients between with and without endometriosis, and the differences among different endometriotic lesions were further studied by Northern Blotting. IL-8 and anti-IL-8 were used to treat cultured endometrial stromal cells(ES). Results: The peritoneal fluid and serum from patients with EM contained significantly greater amounts of IL-8 than those in controls(P=0.03,0.003). A significant correlation between peritoneal fluid IL-8 content and the severity of disease was noted, but there were no evidences of a relationship between concentrations of serum IL-8 and the severity of disease. It was showed that the expression density of IL-8 mRNA in study group was significantly higher than in the control group. Among the different endometriotic lesions, the IL-8 mRNA expression density was: red peritoneal lesion(RPL)ovarian chocolate cyst(OCC) uterosacral ligament nodule (ULN). There was a dose-dependent stimulatory effect of IL-8 on survival of cells, and this function can be inhibited by anti-IL-8. Conclusion: IL-8 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis by promoting the growth of endometrial cells and change peritoneal circumstance.