Peritoneal cytokines and adhesion formation in endometriosis: an inverse association with vascular endothelial growth factor concentration

Ewa Barcz, Łukasz Milewski, Milewski Ł, Dziunycz P, Piotr Dziunycz, Paweł Kamiński, Kamiński P, Rafał Płoski, Jacek Malejczyk
Fertility and sterility · 2012 · vol. 97(6) , pp. 1380–1386.e1 · doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.03.057 · PMID:22542989 · W2067751779
article OA: bronze CC0 ⤵ 49 in-corpus citations
🔓 Open OA copy View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This study investigated the relationship between peritoneal cytokines and adhesion formation in endometriosis, finding an inverse association with vascular endothelial growth factor concentration.

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

Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate inflammatory/angiogenic cytokines-interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A)-in the peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis in relation to the occurrence and severity of pelvic adhesions and in control women without pelvic pathology.DesignCase-control study.SettingUniversity research institution and hospital.Patient(s)Sixty-five women with laparoscopically and histopathologically confirmed endometriosis, including 40 women with pelvic adhesions, and 37 control women without pelvic pathology.Intervention(s)Peritoneal fluid aspirated during routine diagnostic laparoscopic examination.Main outcome measure(s)Cytokines evaluated in the peritoneal fluid via specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.Result(s)Endometriosis and the revised American Fertility Society score of this disease were associated with statistically significantly increased levels of peritoneal IL-6 and IL-8 whereas the incidence and score of endometriosis-related pelvic adhesions were negatively associated with increased levels of VEGF-A. Notably, the concentration of VEGF-A predicted adhesion development and severity after adjustment for endometriosis severity. The adhesion score also correlated with increased levels of IL-6; however, after adjustment for endometriosis severity, the effect of this cytokine was no longer statistically significant.Conclusion(s)Increased levels of VEGF-A may be associated with a decreased rate of pelvic adhesion formation in the course of endometriosis.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Ascitic Fluid Cytokines Endometriosis Tissue Adhesions Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Case-Control Studies Cytokines Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Interferon-gamma Interferon-gamma Interleukin-12 Interleukin-12 Interleukin-1beta Interleukin-1beta Interleukin-6

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 (54)

Cited by (50)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-09-20T09:27:46.357103+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:16:17.081435+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK