Matarese Giuseppe, De Placido Giuseppe, Nikas Yorgos, Alviggi Carlo
Gruppo di ImmunoEndocrinologia, Istituto di Endocrinologia e Oncologia Sperimentale, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Dipartimento di Biologia e Patologia Cellulare e Molecolare, Università di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy.
Trends Mol Med. 2003 May;9(5):223-8. doi: 10.1016/s1471-4914(03)00051-0.
Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease, characterized by implantation and growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. This disabling condition is considered one of the most frequent diseases in gynecology, affecting 15-20% of women in their reproductive life. Pelvic endometriosis, the most common form of the disease, is associated with increased secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, neo-angiogenesis, intrinsic anomalies of the refluxed endometrium and impaired function of cell-mediated natural immunity. Recently, endometriosis has also been considered to be an autoimmune disease, owing to the presence of autoantibodies, the association with other autoimmune diseases and recurrent immune-mediated abortion. These findings are in apparent contradiction with the reduced cell-mediated natural immunity observed during the disease. In this review, we focus on the multiple processes underlying the complex pathogenesis of endometriosis, with particular emphasis on the role played by the immune system with the induction of autoimmunity.
子宫内膜异位症是一种慢性炎症性疾病，其特征是子宫内膜组织在子宫腔外着床并生长。这种致残性疾病被认为是妇科最常见的疾病之一，影响15%至20%处于生育期的女性。盆腔子宫内膜异位症是该疾病最常见的形式，与促炎细胞因子分泌增加、新生血管形成、反流子宫内膜的内在异常以及细胞介导的自然免疫功能受损有关。最近，由于自身抗体的存在、与其他自身免疫性疾病的关联以及反复的免疫介导流产，子宫内膜异位症也被认为是一种自身免疫性疾病。这些发现与疾病期间观察到的细胞介导的自然免疫降低明显矛盾。在这篇综述中，我们关注子宫内膜异位症复杂发病机制背后的多个过程，特别强调免疫系统在诱导自身免疫中所起的作用。
