Efficacy of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy on endometriosis in an experimental rat model

Objective To show the efficacy of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy (etanercept) for treating endometriosis in an experimental model. Design A randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded study using rat endometriosis model. Setting Experimental research center of Ankara Education and Research Hospital. Animal(s) Twenty-two Wistar female rats. Intervention(s) After peritoneal implantation of endometrial tissue, rats were randomized to two equal intervention groups: control and etanercept-treated groups. After measuring implant volume, blood and peritoneal fluid samples were obtained. Vehicle treatments of 2 mL saline to rats in control and 0.4 mg/kg etanercept SC once weekly were administered in treatment group. Four weeks later, a third laparotomy was performed to remeasure implant volumes, blood, and peritoneal fluid samples. Main outcome measure(s) To compare spherical volume, peritoneal fluid and serum levels of VEGF, IL-6, and TNF-α between groups. Result(s) There was a significant difference in spherical volume between control [131.0 (60.3–501.2)] and treatment groups [72.8 (31.2–149.6)] (p < 0.025). In etanercept-treated group, a significant difference was found between peritoneal fluid and serum levels of VEGF, IL-6, and TNF-α (p < 0.01). Conclusion(s) These results indicate that etanercept was found to effectively reduce the development of endometriosis. Similar content being viewed by others Abbreviations - VEGF: - Vascular endothelial growth factor - IL-6: - Interleukin-6 - TNF-α: - Tumor necrosis factor-α

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Prog Clin Biol Res 323:49–60 Conflict of interest statement The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Zulfikaroglu, E., Kılıc, S., Islimye, M. et al. Efficacy of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy on endometriosis in an experimental rat model. Arch Gynecol Obstet 283, 799–804 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-010-1434-0 Received: Accepted: Published: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-010-1434-0