Interleukin 1β, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α in endometriotic tissue and in endometrium

Objective: To compare the levels of IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF alpha in endometriotic tissue and in endometrium from women with endometriosis and healthy controls. Design: Open. Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at a university hospital. Patient(s): Twenty-six women with endometriosis and 22 controls operated on for clinical indications. Intervention(s): ELISA in homogenized tissue samples collected during surgery. Main Outcome Measure(s): Levels of IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF alpha in tissue homogenates. Result(s): The three types of tissue differed significantly with respect to all three cytokines. Endometriotic tissue had significantly higher concentrations of IL Ip than endometrium from both patients with endometriosis and healthy controls. Both endometriotic tissue and endometrium from patients had significantly higher concentrations of IL-6, and endometriotic tissue had significantly lower concentration of TNF alpha than did endometrium from controls. IL-1 beta showed a cycle phase dependence that was significant in endometrium from patients, being higher in the secretory than in the follicular phase. IL-1 beta was significantly higher in endometrioma than in lesions of other localizations. Concentrations of IL-1 beta and IL-6 were positively correlated in endometriotic tissue and in endometrium from controls. No other significant correlations were found. Conclusion(s): This study has shown a significant production of IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF alpha in endometriotic tissue and endometrium, with si,significant differences between the tissue types, indicating a deviating cytokine pattern in both endometriotic tissue and endometrium from women with endometriosis compared with that from healthy controls.(C) 2001 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.