Leflunomide—an Immunomodulator—Induces Regression of Endometrial Explants in a Rat Model of Endometriosis

Dilek Şahın, Dilek Uygur, Hakan Aytan, Aytan H, Zergeroglu S, Sema Zergeroglu, Sema Zergeroğlu, Sertaç Batioglu, Sertaç Batıoğlu, Batioglu S
Journal of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation · 2006 · vol. 13(5) , pp. 378–383 · doi:10.1016/j.jsgi.2006.03.006 · PMID:16713311 · W2081449426
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 40 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

Leflunomide, an immunomodulator, was found to induce regression of endometrial explants in a rat model of endometriosis.

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

Abstract

ObjectiveTo test if leflunomide, an immunomodulator, could impede the growth of an ectopic uterine tissue.MethodsEndometriosis was surgically induced in 26 rats by transplanting an autologous fragment of endometrial tissue onto the inner surface of the abdominal wall. Four weeks later two rats were killed. The volume and weight of the implants were measured. The remaining rats were randomly grouped, and in group 1 no medication was given. To the rats in group 2, 35 mg/kg/d of leflunomide was administered orally. Four weeks later, rats were killed and ectopic uterine tissues were reevaluated morphologically and histologically. A scoring system was used to evaluate preservation of epithelia.ResultsTwo rats in the control group died 5 weeks after surgery. There was a significant difference in post-treatment spherical volumes (139.1 +/- 92.8 versus 33.5 +/- 12.5 mm3) and explant weights (156.3 +/- 105.6 versus 38.6 +/- 12.6 mg) between the control and leflunomide-treated groups. The epithelia were found to be preserved significantly better in the control group when compared with the leflunomide-treated group (median 2.5 [interquartile range, 1.25] versus median 1.00 [interquartile range, 1.5]).ConclusionLeflunomide appeared to cause regression of experimental endometriosis in rats.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Immunologic Factors Isoxazoles Animals Disease Models, Animal Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometrium Endometrium Endometrium Female Immunologic Factors Isoxazoles Leflunomide Rats Rats, Wistar

Citation neighborhood

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. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (49)

Cited by (40)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-08-08T06:08:32.324769+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:15:18.313808+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK