Effect of Interferon α-2b on Endometrioma Cells In Vitro

In Brief OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of interferon α-2b on the growth of endometrioma cells and its effect on the DNA synthesis. METHODS Cells from four separate endometrioma cell lines were seeded into six-well plates in M199 medium containing increasing levels of interferon α-2b: 0 (control), 50, 100, 500, 1000, and 2000 U/mL. All cells were counted on days 0, 3, 6, and 9 in quadruplicate, and the counts were averaged for each condition. A second experiment was run to demonstrate the effect of short-term exposure of interferon α-2b on the growth of endometrioma cells in culture. In a separate experiment, cells from two endometriomas were plated in quadruplicate to evaluate the DNA synthesis. On day 3, 1000 and 4000 U/mL of interferon α-2b were added and run simultaneously with control (0 U/mL) wells. 3H-thymidine was added to each condition for 24 and 48 hours' incubation. Cells were then harvested and counted in a scintillation counter to study the 3H-thymidine uptake. RESULTS Interferon α-2b suppressed endometrioma cell growth in vitro. This effect increased with increasing concentrations of interferon α-2b (50–2000 U/mL) compared with the control (0 U/mL). The suppression of cell growth was statistically significant, but when interferon α-2b was removed from the culture cell growth increased. 3H-thymidine uptake by endometrioma cells decreased compared with the control after 24 and 48 hours for interferon α-2b concentrations of 1000 and 4000 U/mL, respectively. CONCLUSION Interferon α-2b inhibits the growth and DNA synthesis of endometrioma cells in culture. This finding may have prospects for the treatment of endometriosis. Interferon a-2b inhibits endometrioma cell growth and DNA synthesis in vitro.