Display Settings: AbstractTrends Mol Med. 2003 May;9(5):223-8.Pathogenesis of endometriosis: natural immunity dysfunctionor autoimmune disease?Matarese G, De Placido G, Nikas Y, Alviggi C.Gruppo di ImmunoEndocrinologia, Istituto di Endocrinologia e Oncologia Sperimentale, Consiglio Nazionale delleRicerche, Dipartimento di Biologia e Patologia Cellulare e Molecolare, Università di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy.gmatarese@napoli.comAbstractEndometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease, characterized by implantation and growth of endometrial tissue outsidethe uterine cavity. This disabling condition is considered one of the most frequent diseases in gynecology, affecting15-20% of women in their reproductive life. Pelvic endometriosis, the most common form of the disease, is associatedwith increased secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, neo-angiogenesis, intrinsic anomalies of the refluxedendometrium and impaired function of cell-mediated natural immunity. Recently, endometriosis has also been consideredto be an autoimmune disease, owing to the presence of autoantibodies, the association with other autoimmune diseasesand recurrent immune-mediated abortion. These findings are in apparent contradiction with the reduced cell-mediatednatural immunity observed during the disease. In this review, we focus on the multiple processes underlying the complexpathogenesis of endometriosis, with particular emphasis on the role played by the immune system with the induction ofautoimmunity.PMID: 12763528 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]PubMedU.S. National Library of MedicineNational Institutes of HealthPublication Types, MeSH TermsLinkOut – more resources