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Abstract
The study objective was to test the hypothesis that elevated levels of transferrin and alpha 2-HS glycoprotein occur in the peritoneal environment of patients with endometriosis that may lead to the observed autoimmunity to these proteins.
We set up a double sandwich enzyme-linked inimunosorbent assay (ELISA) for measuring levels of transferrin and alpha 2-HS glycoprotein in the serum and peritoneal fluid samples from women with (n = 24–60) and without endometriosis (n = 35–49). Serum and peritoneal fluid levels of alpha 2-HS glycoprotein and peritoneal fluid levels of transferrin were significantly elevated in patients with endometriosis, in contrast to the controls. Serum levels of transferrin in patients, however, were significantly less in the patients than in controls.
We conclude that transferrin and alpha 2-HS glycoprotein are present at high concentrations in the peritoneal fluids of patients with endometriosis. This may play a significant role in the autoimmune pathophysiology of endometriosis.