THE PROFILE OF TH1/TH2 CYTOKINES IN PATIENTS WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS AND ITS CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Objective To investigate the shift of T helper cell type-1 (Th1) cytokine (IFN-γ) and T helper cell type-2 (Th2) cytokine (interleukin-6, IL-6) on pathogensis of endometriosis.MethodsThe levels of IFN-γ and interleukin-6 in serum of 30 patients with endometriosis (EM) and those of 20 normal adults were detected using enzyme linked inmmunoABSorbent assay (ELISA). Variations of IFN-γ/IL-6 ratio were analyzed.ResultsLevels of serum IL-6 in EM patients were significantly higher than those of the normal adults (P0.01). Levels of IL-6 in stage-3-4 patients were much higher than those of stage-1-2 (P0.05). The ratio of IFN-γ/IL-6 was significantly lower than that of the normal controls (P0.05). The IFN-γ/IL-6 lowered dramatically with the aggravation of the stage. ConclusionTh1 cells shift toward Th2 cells in patients with endometriosis. IFN-γ/IL-6 ratio may be correlated with the pathogensis of endometriosis.