Objective: study the levels of proinflammatory mediators and their correlation with reproductivefailure in women with uterine fibroids (UF).
Materials and methods: 90 women aged 18 - 45 years (mean age - 33.9 ± 0.31) were recruited in the study: 60 women with UF were included in the study group and 30 healthy women were included in the control group. The lymphocyte count was performed with laser-based flow cytofluorimetry. The levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interferon IFN-β (IFN-β), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrotizing factor α (TNF-α) and basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF basic) were detected with ELISA test. The diagnosis of UF was confirmed with histological examination of biopsy specimen.
Results: Typical clinical features of UF (abnormal uterine bleeding, pelvic pains, symptoms of adjacent organs compression) were found in 66.67% women in the study group while 18.33% of them had miscarriages and 26.67% had infertility. Women with UF had significantly higher absolute count of lymphocytes: CD3+, CD19+, CD16+CD56+, CD4+, CD8+, CD95+CD3+, proinflammatory mediators: TNF-α, IFN-β, CRP, FGF basic and decreased levels of IFN-γ compared with the control group.
Conclusion: In women of reproductive age, typical symptoms of UF are associated with reproductive failure with activation of adaptive immunity, angiogenic factors, inflammatory cell reactions, deficit of human antitumor factors, that is why detection of TNF-α, СРБ, IFN-γ in serum is necessary to perform in pregravid preparation of women, including IVF program.
Keywords: Uterine fibroids; proinflammatory mediators; reproductive failure.