Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0030794 (pelvic pain)
 4,056 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Endometriosis affects 10-15% of women and is associated with pelvic pain and infertility. Angiogenesis plays an essential role in its pathogenesis. Dendritic cells (DCs) were recently implicated in supporting tumor angiogenesis. As both tumors and endometriosis lesions depend on angiogenesis, we investigated the possibility that DCs may also play a role in endometriosis. We induced endometriosis in 8-wk-old female C57BL/6 mice by implantation of autologous endometrium into the peritoneal cavity. We observed an abundance of CD11c(+) DCs infiltrating sites of angiogenesis in endometriosis lesions. We noticed a similar pattern of infiltrating DCs at sites of angiogenesis in the peritoneal Lewis lung carcinoma tumor model. These DCs were immature (major histocompatability complex class II(low)) and expressed vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2. Peritoneal implanted bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) incorporated into both endometriosis lesions and into B16 melanoma tumors and enhanced their growth at 8 days compared with controls (5.1+/-2.5 vs. 1.5+/-0.5 mm(2), n=4 and 4, P<0.0001 for endometriosis; 67.6+/-15.1 vs. 22.7+/-14.6 mm(2), n=5 and 7, P=0.0004 for mouse melanoma). Finally, immature BMDCs but not mature BMDCs enhanced microvascular endothelial cell migration in vitro (219+/-51 vs. 93+/-32 cells, P=0.02). Based on these findings, we suggest a novel role for DCs in supporting angiogenesis and promoting lesion growth both in endometriosis and in tumors.
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PMID:Dendritic cells support angiogenesis and promote lesion growth in a murine model of endometriosis. 1787 1

Endometriosis is a widespread chronic disease characterized by endometrial tissue located outside the uterine cavity. Clinical signs are chronic pelvic pain and infertility. Emerging evidence indicates that the immune system is profoundly involved in the onset and/or progression of endometriosis. However, mechanistic pathways have not yet been conclusively specified. In this study, women undergoing diagnostic laparoscopy due to infertility were recruited, and classified as early-stage endometriosis (n=30), advanced-stage endometriosis (n=8) or no endometriosis (n=31). The frequency and phenotype of leukocytes were evaluated in peritoneal fluid. While the frequency of lymphocytes was not significantly different, neutrophils were increased in endometriosis. Flow cytometry analysis revealed an increased frequency of CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells in peritoneal fluid of endometriosis patients. In addition, the frequency of CD4(+)CD25(+)CD103(+) cells and lineage(-)HLA-DR(+)CD11c(+)CD123(+) dendritic cells was decreased in peritoneal fluid in endometriosis, whereas CD57(+) NK cells and CD8(+)CD28(-) T suppressor cells remained largely unaltered. We conclude that therapeutic approaches in endometriosis might focus on peritoneal leukocytes as a target or surveillance marker; however, immune alterations in peritoneal fluid are subtle and their analysis will require highly standardized and harmonized protocols.
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PMID:Intraperitoneal immune cell status in infertile women with and without endometriosis. 1937 4