Mast Cells in Peritoneal Fluid From Women With Endometriosis and Their Possible Role in Modulating Sperm Function

Violetta Borelli, Monica Martinelli, Stefania Luppi, Francesca Vita, Federico Romano, Francesco Fanfani, Elisa Trevisan, Fulvio Celsi, Giuliano Zabucchi, Fabrizio Zanconati, Cristina Bottin, Giuseppe Ricci
Frontiers in physiology · 2020 · vol. 10 , pp. 1543 · doi:10.3389/fphys.2019.01543 · PMID:31998139 · PMC6964357 · W2999633128
article OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 17 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This study found increased mast cells and tryptase in the peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis, but tryptase did not inhibit sperm motility, though sperm interaction with mast cells did induce degranulation, potentially modulating sperm function.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

The paper examined mast cell abundance and mediators in peritoneal fluid from 11 infertile women with endometriosis (mostly stage III–IV) versus 9 fertile laparoscopic controls, using cytological cell-block immunostaining for tryptase along with assays for tryptase and β-hexosaminidase activity. It found that both the mast cell population and tryptase representation in peritoneal fluid were higher in endometriosis, but enriched tryptase in those samples did not inhibit sperm motility in vitro, which the authors cite as a limitation regarding sperm motility as the infertility mechanism. Using an in vitro mast cell–sperm interaction model with LAD2 mast cells, sperm contact induced mast cell degranulation in endometriosis peritoneal fluid, implying modulation of sperm function beyond motility. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it links mast cell activation and tryptase in endometriosis-associated peritoneal fluid to potential effects on sperm function relevant to infertility.

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Abstract

Endometriosis is a local pelvic inflammatory process, frequently associated with infertility, with altered function of immune-related cells in the peritoneal environment. Mast cells are known to be key players of the immune system and have been recently involved in endometriosis and in infertility, with their mediators directly suppressing sperm motility. In this study, we evaluated the mast cell population and their mediators in the peritoneal fluid of infertile patients with endometriosis and their impact on human sperm motility. Peritoneal fluids, collected by laparoscopy from 11 infertile patients with endometriosis and 9 fertile controls were evaluated for the presence of mast cells, tryptase levels and their effect on sperm motility. Furthermore, an in vitro model of mast cells-sperm interaction in peritoneal fluid was set up, using LAD2 cell line as a mast cell model, and analyzed from a functional as well as a morphological point of view. Mast cell peritoneal fluid population and its main mediator, tryptase, is more represented in endometriosis confirming an involvement of these cells in this disease. Anyway it appears unlikely that tryptase enriched peritoneal fluid, which fails to inhibit sperm motility, could contribute to endometriosis associated infertility. Despite of this, sperm interaction with the mast cell surface (LAD2) induced a significantly mast cell-degranulation response in the peritoneal fluid from endometriosis which could directly modulate sperm function other than motility. This evidence lead us to suppose that there is, between these elements, an interrelationship which deserves further studies.

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endometriosisinfertility

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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.

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