Skip Navigation



Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on June 3, 2004
Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/humrep/deh340
© 2004 by European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
19/8/1886    most recent
deh340v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Clayton, R.D.
Right arrow Articles by Jackson, A.M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Clayton, R.D.
Right arrow Articles by Jackson, A.M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Received January 5, 2004
Accepted May 6, 2004

Article

Increase in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)- and CD56+ cell-mediated killing of endometrial stromal cells by mycobacteria; a possible role in endometriosis immunotherapy?

R.D. Clayton 1*, S.R. Duffy 2, N. Wilkinson 3, R. Garry 4, A.M. Jackson 1

1 Applied Immunology Laboratory, Cancer Research UK Clinical Centre, St James's University Hospital, Leeds, LS9 7TF, UK
2 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St James's University Hospital, Leeds, LS9 7TF, UK
3 Department of Histopathology, St James's University Hospital, Leeds, LS9 7TF, UK
4 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St James's University Hospital, Leeds, LS9 7TF, UK; Department of Gynaecology, University of Western Australia, King Edward Memorial Hospital, Perth, WA 6008, Australia

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: claytonrd{at}hotmail.com.


  Abstract

BACKGROUND: Immunological therapies have shown promising results in the treatment of endometriosis. Mycobacteria are one of the most common immune therapies used in other diseases. We have assessed the effects of mycobacteria in altering the ability of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and natural killer (NK) cells to kill endometrial stromal cells using an in vitro model. This may have implications in the immunotherapy of endometriosis. METHODS: Primary cultures of endometrial stromal cells were grown from female patients and PBMCs were extracted from healthy female volunteers. Effector cells (PBMCs or NK cells) were exposed to varying concentrations of mycobacteria before their ability to kill cultured endometrial cells was tested using a 51Cr-release assay. RESULTS: Treatment of effector cells with the Connaught Substrain Bacillus of Calmette and Guérin (BCG) led to increased killing of target cells by PBMCs and NK cells. The optimal concentration for treatment of effector cells with Connaught BCG was ~0.1 multiplicities of infection (m.o.i.). There was a trend towards increased killing after treatment with Pasteur BCG. CD56+ (NK) cells treated with BCG at 0.1 m.o.i. showed increased killing of target cells compared with untreated effector cells. CONCLUSIONS:Endometrial stromal cells are susceptible to killer cells activated by mycobacteria. This in vitro work suggests a possible role for mycobacteria in the immunotherapy of endometriosis.

Key words: BCG, endometriosis, endometrium


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.