Gynaecology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Gynaecology, including details on pap smears, laparoscopy, ultrasound, hysteroscopy.

Iron storage is significantly increased in peritoneal macrophages of endometriosis patients and correlates with iron overload in peritoneal fluid.

Lousse JC, Defrère S, Van Langendonckt A, Gras J, González-Ramos R, Colette S, Donnez J

Department of Gynecology, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.

OBJECTIVE: To further investigate peritoneal iron disruption in endometriosis by studying iron storage in peritoneal macrophages of patients with endometriosis compared with controls. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Academic gynecology research unit in a university hospital. PATIENT(S): Fifty patients undergoing laparoscopy. INTERVENTION(S): Collection of peritoneal fluid samples (N = 50) from patients with (n = 27) and without (n = 23) endometriosis undergoing laparoscopy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Quantification of peritoneal macrophage ferritin by immunocytochemical staining and immunodensitometry and measurement of peritoneal iron, transferrin, ferritin, and prohepcidin concentrations. RESULT(S): The optical density of peritoneal macrophage ferritin staining was statistically significantly higher in endometriosis patients than in controls. Higher iron concentrations, transferrin saturations, and ferritin concentrations were also detected in case of endometriosis. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the optical density of macrophage ferritin staining and peritoneal iron concentrations in endometriosis and control patients. CONCLUSION(S): Iron storage is statistically significantly increased in peritoneal macrophages of patients with endometriosis and correlates with iron overload in peritoneal fluid. The potential implications of iron accumulation in peritoneal macrophages in case of endometriosis are discussed.

Published 8 April 2008 in Fertil Steril.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Gynaecology Research Today. All Rights Reserved.