Evalution of cytokines in peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis.

Objective: To investigate the role of cytokines in peritoneal fluid on pathogenesis of endometriosis(EM).Methods: Tnmor necrosis factor alpha(TNFα),Interleukin-6(IL-6)and Interleukin-8(IL-8) contns in peritoneal fluid(PF) of 37 cases with EM were detected by enzyme linked immunoabsorbent assay(ELISA) and compared with the counterpart of 19 cases without EM(controls).The correlation analyses between cytokine concentrations in peritoneal fluid of EM patients and the severity of EM were performed.Results: The peritoneal fluid from patients with EM contained significantly greater amounts of IL-6(2.0±0.4) than those in controls(1.1±0.5)(P0.005).However,in the amounts of IL-8 and TNFα there were no significant difference(P0.05) between stageⅠ,Ⅱ EM and controls.The significantly higher PF IL-8 and TNFα concentrations were found in stage Ⅲ,Ⅳ EM than those in controls.Asignicant correlation between PF IL-6,IL-8,TNFα content and the severity of disease was noted. There were significant correlation between TNFα and IL-6,IL-8.Conclusion:Unusual levels of IL-6,IL-8 and TNFα in PF of EM patients partly account for imbalance of the immunologically dynamic environment in peritoneal cavity of EM patients.