Serum and Peritoneal Fluid Cytokine Profiles in Infertile Women with Endometriosis.

Majid Tarokh, Marefat Ghaffari Novin, Tahereh Poordast, Zohreh Tavana, Hamid Nazarian, Mohsen Norouzian, Behrouz Gharesi‐Fard, Behrouz Gharesi-Fard
Iranian journal of immunology : IJI · 2019 · vol. 16(2) , pp. 151–162 · doi:10.22034/iji.2019.80258 · PMID:31182689 · W2951540130
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This study measured cytokine profiles in serum and peritoneal fluid of infertile women with endometriosis, finding reduced serum IFN-γ, increased peritoneal TGF-β1, and altered cytokine ratios between groups.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-09 · read from full text ⓘ

The paper investigated cytokine profiles associated with Th1/Th2/Th17/Treg pathways in peripheral blood serum and peritoneal fluid from 30 infertile women with endometriosis and 30 fertile controls during laparoscopy, measuring TNF-α, IFN-γ, TGF-β1, IL-4, IL-10, IL-17, and IL-23 by ELISA. The main findings were significantly lower serum IFN-γ in the endometriosis group and higher peritoneal fluid TGF-β1, along with significant differences in serum IFN-γ/TGF-β1 and IL-17/IL-23 ratios between groups. The study’s caveat is its limited sample size and focus on specific cytokines measured at a single timepoint during surgery. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it profiles serum and peritoneal fluid cytokines in infertile endometriosis patients, identifying altered IFN-γ and TGF-β1 patterns.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease with the growth of endometrial cells out of uterus and in the peritoneal cavity. T cell subsets participate in the establishment and progress of the disease by producing different cytokines. OBJECTIVE: To investigate a group of cytokines related to Th1/Th2/Th17/Treg subsets within both peripheral blood and peritoneal fluid (PF) samples from infertile endometriosis women. METHODS: Peripheral blood and PF samples were collected from 30 infertile endometriosis and 30 non-endometriosis fertile women during laparoscopy. Concentration of cytokines, including TNF-α, IFN-γ, TGF-β1, IL-4, IL-10, IL-17 and IL-23 were evaluated using ELISA method. RESULTS: Results indicated that the concentration of IFN-γ within serum was significantly reduced in endometriosis group (p=0.001). Regarding PF cytokines, TGF-β1 was increased in endometriosis group (p=0.030). Furthermore, the ratios of IFN-γ/TGF-β1 and IL-17/IL-23 were significantly different between endometriosis and non-endometriosis women in serum samples (p<0.001 and p<0.01 respectively). The ratios of TNF-α/IL-10 and IL-17/IL-10 were also significantly different regarding PF samples between the two studied groups (p<0.04 and p<0.03 respectively). Finally, significant correlations were observed between the levels of IL-17 and IL-23, inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, in both samples and serum to PF inflammatory cytokines. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of the present study, in women with endometriosis, the disturbance of cytokines network might gradually activate the inflammatory responses and tissue repair, resulting in endometriosis development after several years.
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Document Type : Original Article Authors - Majid Tarokh 1 - Marefat Ghaffari Novin 1 - Tahereh Poordast 2, 3 - Zohreh Tavana 2, 3 - Hamid Nazarian 1 - Mohsen Norouzian 1 - Behrouz Gharesi-Fard 3, 4, 5 1 Department of Biology and Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran 3 Infertility Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran 4 Immunology Department, Shiraz university of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran 5 Department of reproductive Biology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran Abstract Background: Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease with the growth of endometrial cells out of uterus and in the peritoneal cavity. T cell subsets participate in the establishment and progress of the disease by producing different cytokines. Objective: To investigate a group of cytokines related to Th1/Th2/Th17/Treg subsets within both peripheral blood and peritoneal fluid (PF) samples from infertile endometriosis women. Methods: Peripheral blood and PF samples were collected from 30 infertile endometriosis and 30 non-endometriosis fertile women during laparoscopy. Concentration of cytokines, including TNF-α, IFN-γ, TGF-β1, IL-4, IL-10, IL-17 and IL- 23 were evaluated using ELISA method. Results: Results indicated that the concentration of IFN-γ within serum was significantly reduced in endometriosis group (p=0.001). Regarding PF cytokines, TGF-β1 was increased in endometriosis group (p=0.030). Furthermore, the ratios of IFN-γ/TGF-β1 and IL-17/IL-23 were significantly different between endometriosis and non-endometriosis women in serum samples (pConclusion: Based on the results of the present study, in women with endometriosis, the disturbance of cytokines network might gradually activate the inflammatory responses and tissue repair, resulting in endometriosis development after several years. Keywords

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Cytokines Endometriosis Endometrium Infertility, Female T-Lymphocyte Subsets Adult Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Ascitic Fluid Cytokines Cytokines Cytokines Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometrium Female Humans Infertility, Female Infertility, Female Middle Aged

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