Study on gene expression of IL-17A in eutopic and ectopic tissue sample of endometriosis patients and comparison with control group

Abstract

Introduction : The growth of endometrial tissue beyond the uterine cavity characterizes endometriosis, a chronic inflammatory disease. IL-17A, along with other immune mediators and a myriad of immune cells including Th17 lymphocytes and macrophages, are more prevalent in the peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis. IL-17A facilitates the implantation of endometrial tissue in ectopic locations by inducing growth factors and inflammatory cytokines from other immune cells. This work focuses on the levels of IL-17A gene expression in tissue samples from patient and control groups, as prior research has not extensively covered the gene expression of inflammatory mediators in tissue samples. Methods : This study is both experimental and case-control in nature. Tissue samples were collected from 32 women undergoing laparoscopy at Yazd Shahid Sadoughi Hospital. The samples were divided into two groups: 16 patients with endometriosis and 16 healthy individuals. Within the patient group, there were two types of samples: eutopic and ectopic. The expression of IL-17A was assessed with RT-qPCR. Results : RT-qPCR results showed a significant difference in IL-17A gene expression between ectopic lesions and eutopic samples from endometriosis patients (P value < 0.0001). Additionally, there was a significant increase in gene expression in eutopic samples from endometriosis patients compared to control samples (P value = 0.0176). Conclusion : This study confirms the crucial involvement of inflammatory mediators like IL-17A in endometriosis through molecular findings in tissue samples, reflecting the elevated IL-17A content in the eutopic endometrium and ectopic lesions of endometriosis patients.