Effect of peritoneal fluid from endometriosis patients on neuroblastoma cells in culture.
OBJECTIVE
Endometriosis is often associated with lower abdominal pain, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and chronic pelvic pain. There is no correlation between the extent of endometriosis and the intensity of pain. The mechanism of pain in endometriosis is unknown. The aim of our study was to investigate the influence of peritoneal fluid (PF) from endometriosis patients on cultured neural cells that are the morphological basis of nociception, and to determine whether there was a relationship between the rAFS staging and an elevation of TGF-beta1 production by these cells.


METHODS
Different human neuroblastoma cell lines were grown to 3/4 confluence and then cultured in presence of PF pooled according to the presence of no, mild, or severe endometriosis. After 6 and 24 h of incubation, the morphological changes were assessed and the metabolic activity was determined.


RESULTS
The different cell lines showed strongly varying proliferation and aggregation patterns. The metabolic activity was also varying between cell lines, but no consistently increased cell turnover in the PF when compared with the control medium nor associated to a particular, endometriosis-derived PF pool could be shown. In this experimental setting, we have observed that the cell proliferation in the presence of PF was inhibited, and not enhanced as it might have been expected. Measurement of TGF-beta1 showed higher production rates for this cytokine under exposure to PF than in controls for some but not all tested cell lines, but there was no association with the stage (rAFS) of the disease.


CONCLUSIONS
The neuronal cell culture model may become a useful tool to investigate the endometriosis-derived pain, but different endpoints and cell lines may have to be introduced.
Bersinger
Nick A
NA
Department of Obstetrics/Gynaecology, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland. nick.bersinger@dkf.unibe.ch
Brodbeck
Michael H
MH
Jahns
Boriana
B
Mueller
Michael D
MD
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001202:Ascitic Fluid / Q000502:physiology*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002455:Cell Division; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000473:pathology*; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis
D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1