The frequency of CD25+CD4+ and FOXP3+ regulatory T cells in ectopic endometrium and ectopic decidua

BACKGROUND: The presence of regulatory T (Treg) cells in human endometrium is crucial for maintaining immunological homeostasis within the uterus. For this study we decided to evaluate the subpopulations of Treg cells in conditions where a disturbance in the immunological equilibrium in ectopic endometrium and decidua has been observed, such as in cases of ovarian endometriosis (involving local immune cell suppression) and ectopic pregnancy (involving an increase in local immune system activity). We then compared these findings to what we observed in the normal eutopic endometrium of women during the secretory phase of the menstrual cycle (with immune cells under individual control). METHODS: The endometrium tissue samples evaluated in our study were obtained from 47 women during one of two kinds of laparoscopic procedures. 16 of the women underwent laparoscopies due to Fallopian tube pregnancies (EP), and 16 due to ovarian endometrioma, while 15 women made up a control group. The presence of regulatory T cells in these tissue samples was evaluated by FACS. RESULTS: In our study, the percentages of FOXP3+ cells within the subpopulation of CD4+ T lymphocytes found in the decidua of the patients treated for Fallopian tube pregnancies were statistically significantly lower than both those observed in the ovarian endometriosis tissue samples and those found in the secretory eutopic endometrium samples of the control group. CONCLUSION: The disturbance in the immunological equilibrium observed in ectopic endometrium and decidua would seem to be related to the alteration in the Treg cell population that occurs in these ectopic tissues.