Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression levels and significance of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-10 mRNA in peritoneal fluid mononuclear cells (PFMC) in patients with endometriosis (EM). Methods A total of 55 patients with EM diagnosed histopathologically after operation were enrolled as EM group, and 52 patients without EM were enrolled as control group. The PFMC were isolated, and the expression levels of IFN-γ and IL-10 mRNA were determined by TaqMan real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results It was found that IFN-γ mRNA expression level was significantly decreased in EM group compared with that in control group (P<0.05), while IL-10 mRNA expression level was significantly increased in EM group compared with that in control group (P<0.05). The ratio of IFN-γ/IL-10 was significantly lower in EM group than that in control group (P<0.05). The ratio of IFN-γ/IL-10 was significantlyhigher in patients with stageⅠ-Ⅱ than that in patients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ (P<0.05). Conclusion The imbalance of IFN-γ/IL-10 in PFMC is associated with the pathogenesis of EM.

Key words: endometriosis, interferon type Ⅱ, interleukin 10, mononuclear cells, peritoneal fluid