The Influence of Lactoferrin in Plasma and Peritoneal Fluid on Iron Metabolism in Women with Endometriosis

Ewa Skarżyńska, Monika Wróbel, Hanna Zborowska, Mateusz Franciszek Kołek, Grzegorz Mańka, Mariusz Kiecka, Michał Lipa, Damian Warzecha, Robert Spaczyński, Piotr Piekarski, Beata Banaszewska, Artur Jakimiuk, Tadeusz Issat, Wojciech Rokitaⴕ, Wojciech Rokita, Jakub Młodawski, Maria Szubert, Piotr Sieroszewski, Grzegorz Raba, Kamil Szczupak, Tomasz Kluz, Marek Kluza, Mirosław Wielgoś, Barbara Lisowska-Myjak, Barbara Lisowska‐Myjak, Piotr Laudański
International journal of molecular sciences · 2023 · vol. 24(2) , pp. 1619 · doi:10.3390/ijms24021619 · PMID:36675136 · W4316372809
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This study found altered lactoferrin, iron, transferrin, and ferritin levels in plasma and peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis, with specific ratios potentially indicating disease presence and stage.

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between lactoferrin and iron and its binding proteins in women with endometriosis by simultaneously measuring these parameters in plasma and peritoneal fluid. Ninety women were evaluated, of whom 57 were confirmed as having endometriosis. Lactoferrin was measured by ELISA, transferrin, ferritin and iron on a Cobas 8000 analyser. Lactoferrin and transferrin in peritoneal fluid were lower compared to plasma, in contrast to ferritin and iron. In plasma, lactoferrin showeds associations with iron and transferrin in endometriosis and with ferritin in the group without endometriosis. Lactoferrin in peritoneal fluid correlated with lactoferrin, iron and transferrin of plasma in patients without endometriosis. The ratio of lactoferrin concentration in peritoneal fluid to plasma differentiated stage I versus IV of endometriosis and was negatively correlated with the iron ratio in patients without endometriosis. The ferritin ratio differentiated women with and without endometriosis. The very high ferritin ratios, especially in advanced stages of endometriosis, suggest the protective involvement of this protein in peritoneal fluid and the loss of this role by lactoferrin. The results demonstrate the validity of assessing iron metabolism in women with endometriosis, which may be useful as a marker of the disease and its progression.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis

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.

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