Khanaki Korosh, Nouri Mohammad, Ardekani Ali M, Ghassemzadeh Alieh, Shahnazi Vahideh, Sadeghi Mohammad R, Darabi Masoud, Mehdizadeh Amir, Dolatkhah Homayon, Saremi Abotaleb, Imani Ali R, Rahimipour Ali
Dept. of Biochemistry and Clinical Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Nano Technology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Iran Biomed J. 2012;16(1):38-43. doi: 10.6091/ibj.1025.2012.
Endometriosis is a common chronic inflammation causing major problems including infertility. The role of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids as their potential anti-inflammatory effects in endometriosis needs to be further explored. The objective of this study was to compare serum phospholipid fatty acid profile in endometriosis patients with controls, and to explore the correlation of this profile with the severity of the disease.
Sixty-four endometriosis patients and 74 control women, in reproductive age, participated in this study. Among the endometriosis patients, 19 cases were in stage I, 27 cases in stage II, 8 cases in stage III, and 10 cases in stage IV. Each patient underwent laparoscopy. Before surgery, 5 ml of blood was obtained. After extraction of the total lipids, serum total phospholipid fraction was isolated by thin layer chromatography. Fatty acid composition of the phospholipid fraction was determined by gas chromatography and the resulted profile was compared in endometriosis patients and controls. The profile was also compared in the endometriosis group based on the severity of disease.
Stearic acid was significantly lower in the endometriosis group as compared to controls (P= 0.030). No other fatty acid compositions were significantly different between patients and controls. Serum ratio of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to arachidonic acid (AA) was in reasonable correlation with the severity of endometriosis (r = 0.34, P = 0.006).
According to these findings, levels of fatty acids in serum total phospholipids seem not to be a marker for endometriosis, but the EPA to AA ratio was a relevant factor indicating severity of illness.
子宫内膜异位症是一种常见的慢性炎症，会引发包括不孕在内的重大问题。ω-3和ω-6脂肪酸因其潜在的抗炎作用在子宫内膜异位症中的作用有待进一步探索。本研究的目的是比较子宫内膜异位症患者与对照组的血清磷脂脂肪酸谱，并探讨该谱与疾病严重程度的相关性。
64例子宫内膜异位症患者和74例育龄对照女性参与了本研究。在子宫内膜异位症患者中，I期19例，II期27例，III期8例，IV期10例。每位患者均接受了腹腔镜检查。手术前采集5毫升血液。提取总脂质后，通过薄层色谱法分离血清总磷脂部分。通过气相色谱法测定磷脂部分的脂肪酸组成，并比较子宫内膜异位症患者和对照组的结果谱。还根据疾病严重程度在子宫内膜异位症组中比较了该谱。
与对照组相比，子宫内膜异位症组的硬脂酸显著降低（P = 0.030）。患者和对照组之间的其他脂肪酸组成无显著差异。二十碳五烯酸（EPA）与花生四烯酸（AA）的血清比值与子宫内膜异位症的严重程度呈合理相关性（r = 0.34，P = 0.006）。
根据这些发现，血清总磷脂中的脂肪酸水平似乎不是子宫内膜异位症的标志物，但EPA与AA的比值是表明疾病严重程度的一个相关因素。
