Paracrine regulation of endometriotic tissue

Francesca Minici, Federica Tiberi, Anna Tropea, Fiorella Miceli, Mariateresa Orlando, Maria Francesca Gangale, Maria Francesca Gangalè, Federica Romani, Stefania Catino, Sebastiano Campo, Antonio Lanzone, Rosanna Apa
Gynecological endocrinology : the official journal of the International Society of Gynecological Endocrinology · 2007 · vol. 23(10) , pp. 574–580 · doi:10.1080/09513590701581721 · PMID:17952762 · W2170985365
review OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 22 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

Women with endometriosis have activated immune cells in peritoneal fluid that secrete factors to promote endometriotic cell proliferation and angiogenesis.

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

Abstract

Endometriosis is a chronic estrogen-dependent gynecological disease, characterized by pelvic pain and infertility, defined as the presence of endometrial glands and stroma within the pelvic peritoneum and other extrauterine sites. In the peritoneal cavity endometrial cells adhere, proliferate and induce an inflammatory response. Despite a long history of clinical and experimental research, the pathogenesis of endometriosis is still controversial. Abnormal immunological activation, the endocrine milieu and the peritoneal environment all dramatically affect endometriotic tissue function. Recent studies suggest that the peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis contains an increased number of activated macrophages and other immune cells that secrete various local products, such as growth factors and cytokines, which exert a paracrine action on endometriotic cells. Since the peculiar biological characteristics of eutopic endometrium from women with endometriosis differ from endometrium of normal subjects, an important role in the pathogenesis of this complex disease has been suggested. All of these factors contribute to enhanced proliferative and angiogenic activity and a number of functional and structural changes, resulting in the particular behavior of this tissue.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosisinfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometrium Paracrine Communication Aromatase Aromatase Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometrium Estrogens Estrogens Female Humans Inflammation Inflammation Menstruation Disturbances Menstruation Disturbances Peritoneum Peritoneum Peritoneum

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 (66)

Cited by (22)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-06-24T06:10:11.469335+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:14:48.452140+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK