[Determination of interleukin-17 concentrations in peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of interleukin-17 (IL-17) in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. METHODS: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the concentrations of IL-17 in peritoneal fluid of 36 patients with different stage endometriosis and 26 patients without endometriosis. RESULTS: The concentrations of IL-17 in peritoneal fluid of the patients with and without endometriosis were (5.7 +/- 1.9) ng/L and (5.3 +/- 1.4) ng/L, respectively, without significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). According to staging criteria of r-AFS, the concentrations of peritoneal IL-17 in the patients with stage I-II endometriosis (6.4 +/- 1.7) ng/L were significantly higher than those in the patients with stage III-IV endometriosis (5.1 +/- 1.8) ng/L and in the patients without endometriosis (P 0.05). The levels of peritoneal IL-17 were significantly higher in the endometriosis patients with infertility (6.4 +/- 1.8) ng/L than in the endometriosis patients without infertility (5.1 +/- 1.8) ng/L (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: IL-17 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of early endometriosis and pathophysiology of endometriosis-associated infertility.