Autoimmune response in women with endometriosis.

PROBLEM

The aim of this study was to investigate the humoral immune response to the female reproductive tissues associated with endometriosis (grades I-III) (n = 52), compared with a group of healthy fertile women (n = 6).

METHOD OF STUDY

An ELISA with cultured endometrial cell lines in monolayer was used to determine the presence of anti-endometrial antibodies (AEA). For anti-zona pellucida antibodies (AZPA) assessment a conventional ELISA was employed. The presence of antibodies to human sperm (ASA) was performed by the tray agglutination test (TAT).

RESULTS

Endometriosis grade III was associated with AEA in serum in the 45.4% of patients. The presence of AEA in serum is correlated to endometriosis severity. The 8.7% of women with endometriosis showed ASA, and the 10.9% of them were positive for AZPA. Antibodies specific for endometrial cells do not show reaction to any gamete antigen (sperm or oocyte), suggesting that they are not cross reactive.

CONCLUSIONS

Severity of endometriosis is correlated with high titers of AEA.