Effect of Helixor A on Natural Killer Cell Activity in

licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Reproduction is permitted for personal, noncommercial use, provided that the article is in whole, unmodified, and properly cited. Received: 2014.07.09; Accepted: 2014.10.21; Published: 2015.01.01 Background and Aim: NK cells are one of the major immune cells in endometriosis patho-genesis. While previous clinical studies have shown that helixor A to be an effective treatment for endometriosis, little is known about its mechanism of action, or its relationship with immune cells. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of helixor A on Natural killer cell (NK cell) cy-totoxicity in endometriosis Materials and Methods: We performed an experimental study. Samples of peritoneal fluid were obtained from January 2011 to December 2011 from 50 women with endometriosis and 50 women with other benign ovarian cysts (control). Peritoneal fluid of normal control group and endometriosis group was collected during laparoscopy. Baseline cytotoxicity levels of NK cells were measured with the peritoneal fluid of control group and endometriosis group. Next, cy-totoxicity of NK cells was evaluated before and after treatment with helixor A. NK-cell activity was determined based upon the expression of CD107a, as an activation marker.