Endometriosis: abnormal endometrium and dysfunctional immune response
- 1 October 1998
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Wolters Kluwer Health in Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Vol. 10 (5) , 365-369
- https://doi.org/10.1097/00001703-199810000-00003
Abstract
This review highlights recent studies that illuminate the role of the immune system in endometriosis. The findings are discussed in the framework of a model which proposes that endometriosis reflects an immunological selection process. Endometrial cells, which are inherently resistant to apoptosis and immune-mediated elimination, acquire the capacity to utilize the products of an activated immune sytem to establish ectopic foci of disease. Cyclical inflammatory/immune cell stimulation that fails to eliminate ectopic endometrial implants results in progressive immunological derangement and associated pathophysiological changes which are characteristic of the disease.Keywords
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