Pelvic endometriosis and natural killer cell immunity

Atsushi Fukui, Mai C, Chuxian Mai, Saeki S, Shinichiro Saeki, Mayu Yamamoto, Yamamoto M, Takeyama R, Ryu Takeyama, Kato T, Toru Kato, Ukita Y, Yuji Ukita, Yu Wakimoto, Ayano Yamaya, Hiroaki Shibahara
American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2020 · vol. 85(4) , pp. e13342 · doi:10.1111/aji.13342 · PMID:32896016 · W3084439757
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This review examines the role of natural killer cells in pelvic endometriosis, detailing how their altered receptors and cytokine production contribute to the disease's onset and progression.

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Abstract

Endometriosis is a chronic disease that commonly affects women in their reproductive age. It has been reported that the infertility due to endometriosis is largely caused by pelvic adhesion, oocyte damage, and so on. There are several causes of endometriosis including bacterial infections, immunological abnormalities, epigenetics, and aberrant DNA methylation. The natural killer (NK) cells present in the peritoneal fluid express CD16 and CD56. They also express NK cell inhibitory receptors and activating receptors and usually work to eliminate endometrial cells in the retrograde menstruation. However, in women with endometriosis, the changes in these receptors and production of cytokines by NK cells cause the onset and progression of endometriosis. In this review, we have focused on the role of NK cells in pelvic endometriosis and presented the immunological abnormalities in endometriosis including the possibility of future treatment.

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Condition tags

endometriosisinfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Killer Cells, Natural Animals Cytokines Cytokines Endometriosis Female Humans Infertility, Female Infertility, Female Killer Cells, Natural Receptors, Natural Killer Cell Receptors, Natural Killer Cell

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 (79)

Cited by (40)

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License: CC0 · commercial use OK