Recombinant interleukin-2 corrects in vitro the immunological defect of endometriosis.
OBJECTIVE
It has been shown recently that women with endometriosis have several immunological defects. In particular, these patients have a defect in peripheral blood natural killer cell activity and have lost their capacity of recognizing and lysing autologous endometrial cells.


METHODS
We evaluated the effect of recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) on peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained from both healthy donors and endometriosis patients. The generation of a strong cytolytic activity against autologous endometrial cells was obtained from both normal donors and endometriosis patients.


RESULTS
Interestingly, these cytolytic cells belong to the T-cell lineage and do not recognize both autologous keratinocytes and allogeneic endometrial cells, thus suggesting a mechanism of specific recognition of autologous cells.


CONCLUSIONS
The capability of restoring cytolytic activity using rIL-2 suggests a new immunotherapeutic approach for the treatment of severe endometriosis.
Melioli
G
G
Servizio di Patologia Clinica, Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, Genova, Italy.
Semino
C
C
Semino
A
A
Venturini
P L
PL
Ragni
N
N
D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte / Q000378:metabolism; D015551:Autoimmunity; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007519:Isoantigens; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000276:immunology; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D010641:Phenotype; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000276:immunology
D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D007376:Interleukin-2; D007519:Isoantigens; D011994:Recombinant Proteins