The type of cytokines production that regulate NK activity in women with uterine leiomyoma

• Natalia Yu. Sotnikova
• Malyshkina Daria Andreevna
• Dmitry N. Voronin

Abstract

Introduction. Natural killer cells (NK) play an important role in the regulation of tumor growth. The control of NK activity is largely carried out by the microenvironment, in which cytokines play the main role.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of IL–18, IL-27 and IL-35 regulating NK function in women with uterine leiomyoma (LMM).

Material and methods. The study involved 51 womens of reproductive age with symptomatic intramural LMM and 12 practically healthy women without this pathology. The level of cytokines IL-18, IL-27 and IL-35 in peripheral blood serum, endometrial tissue and myomatous nodes lysates was assessed by enzyme immunoassay.

Results. In women with LMM, the serum IL-18 level was lower compared to women without LMM. IL-27 in serum was detected only in 20/51 (39.2%) women with LMM. Women of reproductive age with LMM were characterized by a higher level of IL-27 in endometrial tissues than women without LMM. In the tissues of myomatous nodes, lower levels of all studied cytokines regulating the activity of NK were detected in comparison with those in the endometrium.

Conclusion. The presence of myomatous nodes affects the production of cytokines regulating the activation of NK in endometrial tissues, however, in the tissues of the myomatous nodes themselves, the production of cytokines, both with activating and inhibitory activity involved in the regulation of NK function, remains relatively low.

Keywords:uterine leiomyoma; cytokines; IL-18; IL-27; IL-35; natural killers

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