Are there antiendometrial antibodies in sera of women with endometriosis?

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To identify and characterize the antiendometrial tissue specific antibody response in endometriosis patients.

DESIGN

Retrospective.

SETTING

Industrial research laboratory.

PATIENTS

Twenty untreated women with laparoscopically diagnosed endometriosis, 10 healthy women without symptoms of endometriosis, 12 women in whom laparoscopy failed to yield evidence of endometriosis, 10 healthy men, and 4 individuals with elevated titers of serum antinuclear antibodies.

RESULTS

Several immunological methods have been employed including immunofluorescence, hemagglutination, enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assays, and protein blotting. Contrary to reports in the literature, results of these analyses have failed to demonstrate the presence of detectable levels of antiendometrial immunoreactivity in sera from patients with endometriosis.

CONCLUSION

The association of endometrial autoimmunity with endometriosis remains to be established.