title: Altered expression of interleukin-18 in the peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Peritoneal fluid (PF) inflammatory factors may participate in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. The aim of this study was to investigate PF interleukin (IL)-18 levels in women with and without endometriosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Controlled clinical study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women undergoing laparoscopy at a university hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty women with previously untreated endometriosis, 8 women on GnRH agonists for endometriosis, and 18 control women with normal pelvic anatomy who were undergoing tubal ligation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Peritoneal fluid IL-18 levels as measured by ELISA.
  
  
  METHODS
  Peritoneal fluid IL-18 levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Peritoneal fluid IL-18 levels were significantly higher in women with previously untreated endometriosis (mean +/- SEM, 91.1 +/- 6.5 pg/mL) than in control women (59.4 +/- 2.0 pg/mL). Interestingly, women with superficial (100.0 +/- 10.2 pg/mL) and deep peritoneal implants (94.0 +/- 10.8 pg/mL) had significantly higher PF IL-18 levels than did women with endometriomas (57.8 +/- 1.8 pg/mL). Similarly, women with stage I-II endometriosis (97.3 +/- 8.0 pg/mL), but not women with stage III-IV endometriosis (74.9 +/- 9.9 pg/mL), had significantly higher PF IL-18 levels than did control women. Peritoneal fluid IL-18 levels were significantly higher in the luteal phase than in the follicular phase but did not discriminate between women with pelvic pain or infertility.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Peritoneal fluid IL-18 is elevated in women with peritoneal, minimal- to mild-stage endometriosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8063, USA. aydin.arici@yale.edu
authors.forename: Aydin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arici
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matalliotakis
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goumenou
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Koumantakis
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vassiliadis
authors.forename: Neal G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Mahutte
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001202:Ascitic Fluid / Q000378:metabolism*; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005498:Follicular Phase / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000378:metabolism*; D008183:Luteal Phase / Q000378:metabolism; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D020382:Interleukin-18