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Autoreactivity in women with endometriosis
Author(s) -
TAYLOR PAMELA V.,
MALONEY MICHAEL D.,
CAMPBELL JAMES M.,
SKERROW SYLVIA M.,
NIP MARIA M. C.,
PARMAR REKHA,
TATE GEOFFREY
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1991.tb13455.x
Subject(s) - endometriosis , medicine , autoantibody , lupus anticoagulant , antibody , anti nuclear antibody , immunology , antigen , gastroenterology
Summary. Serum samples from 71 patients with laparoscopically staged endometriosis and from 109 age‐matched non‐pregnant control women were tested for antibodies to nuclear, phospholipid, smooth muscle and sperm antigens. Immunoglobulin G, M and A and complement components C 3 and C 4 were measured. Prevalence of the following autoantibodies was statistically significantly greater in women with endometriosis than in the control group: antinuclear antibodies, antibodies to ribonucleoproteins, smooth muscle antibodies, lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibody. Forty‐one women with endometriosis (58%) had some type of autoantibody compared with 13 controls (12%). More women in the endometriosis group had IgG and IgM levels above the normal range. This was statistically significant for IgG in women with grade 3 and for IgM in those with grade 4 endometriosis, IgG levels were significantly higher in antibody‐positive women with endometriosis than in the control group. Immunoglobulin and complement component levels tended to have a positive correlation with stage of disease.