[Relationship between activation of endometrial CD56+ natural killers and the character of leiomyoma nodules growth in patients with uterine leiomyoma.]

In patients with different clinical variants of uterine leiomyoma (large or small size, presence or absence of intensive proliferation of tumor cells) the comparative analysis of endometrial CD56+ natural killers (NK) activation was carried out. The relative content of CD56+ cells, expressing of CD158a and CD158i molecules from KIR (killer immunoglobuline-like receptors) family, interferon γ (IFNγ) and transforming growth factor ß1 (TGFß1), was estimated by flow cytometry method. It was found that in the endometrium of all patients with uterine leiomyoma independently of tumor size the content of CD56+ cells and the amount of NK, expressing both activating (CD158i) and inhibitory (CD158a) receptors, were increased. In group of women with stably small uterine leiomyoma the amount of CD56+IFNγ+ lymphocytes was increased, and in women with rapidly growing tumor the elevation of NK, expressing TGFß1, was noted. Differential analysis of data in patients with large leiomyoma in dependence of type of leiomyoma growth was shown that in patients with the high level of tumor cells proliferation the amount of CD56+ NK and the ratio of NK with activating and inhibitory receptors were lower and the content of CD56+TGFß1+ lymphocytes was higher than that in women with leiomyoma, which grew due to accumulation of the extracellular matrix components. Received results showed on the suppression of cytotoxic activity of endometrial NK in patients with uterine leiomyoma with increased proliferation. These changes can be used as additional diagnostic criteria of type of leiomyoma growth.

Cytokine production by immunocompetent cells of peritoneal fluid in women with external genital endometriosis.

The content of some cytokines in the peritoneal fluid and the level of their in vitro production by peritoneal macrophages and lymphocytes were evaluated in women with external endometriosis. The ratio of peritoneal lymphocytes and macrophages in the peritoneal fluid was changed in endometriosis because of increased percentage of lymphoid cells and decreased content of macrophages, in the presence of high absolute counts of both types of cells. The cytokine status of women with endometriosis was characterized by higher levels of IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, and epidermal growth factors both in the peritoneal fluid and supernatants of 24-h cultures of peritoneal macrophages; the content of IFN-alpha remained unchanged. The concentrations of IFN-gamma in the peritoneal fluid did not change in endometriosis, but increased in the supernatants of peritoneal lymphocyte cultures.