Study on the Levels of Interfron-r and Interleukin-4 Secreted by T Helper Cells inPeritoneal Fluid in Endometriosis Patients

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the pathogenesis and the levels of Interfron-r and Interleukin-4 secreted by T helper (Th) cells in peritoneal fluid in endometriosis. Methods: Twenty-four women with pathological diagnosed endometriosis after operation were selected as endometriosis group and 24 with leiomyoma or benign ovarian tumor were selected as control group. Th cells in peritoneal fluid were isolated and cultured, the levels of IFN-r and IL-4 in culture media were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the ratios of IFN-r/IL-4 were calculated. Results: The level of IFN-r secreted by Th cells in endometriosis group was significantly lower than that of control group (P 0.01) and the level of IL-4 in endometriosis group was higher than that of control group (P 0.05). The ratio of IFN-r/IL-4 of endometriosis group was lower than that of control group (P 0.01). Conclusion: The change of IFN-r/IL-4 ratio in endometriosis approves the imbalance state of Th 1/ Th 2, which leads to endometriosis escaping from immune surveillance, and results in ectopic membrane implantation.