Chemokines and Their Association With Symptom Severity in Women With Endometriosis

Anton Sommar, Pinar Yalcin Bahat, Pınar Yalçın Bahat, Ipek Yildiz Özaydin, İsmet Özaydın, Eray Metin Güler, Marie Bixo, Torbjörn Bäckström, Engin Oral, Sahruh Turkmen, Şahruh Türkmen
American journal of reproductive immunology (New York, N.Y. : 1989) · 2025 · vol. 94(3) , pp. e70156 · doi:10.1111/aji.70156 · PMID:40906442 · W4413986512
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This study found that serum concentrations and endometrial expression of CCL2, CXCL8, and CXCL1 are associated with increased pain severity in women with endometriosis.

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Abstract

PROBLEM: Various chemokines have been linked to endometriosis. Notably, chemokines such as CCL2, CXCL8, and CXCL1 have also been shown to promote nociception. In this study, we investigated whether increased serum concentrations and endometrial expression of chemokines (specifically CCL2, CXCL8, and CXCL1) are associated with heightened severity of pain symptoms in women with endometriosis. METHOD OF STUDY: The study included women with endometriosis (with [n = 27] and without [n = 24] hormonal treatment) as well as healthy controls (n = 22). All participants underwent blood sampling and an endometrial biopsy during the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle. Symptom severity in the patient group was assessed using the pain dimension of the Endometriosis Health Profile 30 (EHP-30) and a visual analog scale (VAS) for pain. RESULTS: Serum levels of CCL2 and CXCL1, as well as endometrial expression of CXCL8, were lower in women with endometriosis compared to controls. Furthermore, increased serum levels of CCL2, CXCL8, and CXCL1 were associated with higher EHP-30 pain domain scores in women with endometriosis. Similarly, elevated endometrial expression of CXCL8 and CXCL1 correlated with higher VAS scores. Notably, when the patient group was stratified based on ongoing hormonal treatment, CXCL1 emerged as the most promising target, with both increased serum concentration and endometrial expression consistently being associated with greater symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that chemokines, particularly CXCL1, are associated with greater pain severity and reduced quality of life in women with endometriosis. However, these correlations do not establish causality and should be interpreted with caution.

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Outcome instruments

EHP-30 VAS-pain

Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Chemokine CCL2 Chemokine CCL2 Chemokine CCL2 Chemokine CCL2 Chemokine CCL2 Chemokine CCL2 Chemokine CCL2 Chemokine CCL2 Chemokine CCL2 Chemokine CCL2 Chemokine CCL2 Chemokine CCL2 Chemokine CCL2 Chemokine CXCL1 Chemokine CXCL1 Chemokine CXCL1 Chemokine CXCL1 Chemokine CXCL1 Chemokine CXCL1 Chemokine CXCL1

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 (33)

Cited by (1)

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