Peritoneal fluid leptin and interleukin-15 in pelvic endometriosis

Objective: This study investigated the relation between peritoneal fluid (PF) leptin and interleukin-15 (IL-15) concentrations and the severity of pelvic endometriosis. Design: Peritoneal fluid samples were collected from 40 women with endometriosis and 15 women without endometriosis as controls. Setting: The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Benha Faculty of Medicine, ZagazigUniversity. Intervention: Peritoneal fluid samples were collected during laparoscopy. Quantitative measurement of PF leptin and IL-15 was done by enzyme immunoassay. Results: The mean ranks of PF leptin and IL-15 were significantly higher in women with endometriosis compared to controls (p = 0.001 and 0.004, respectively). PF leptin and IL-15 levels were significantly different in the various stages of endometriosis. The PF leptin in stages I and II was significantly higher than stages III and IV. In addition, significantly higher concentrations of IL-15 were found in stage I than stage III and IV. A significant negative correlation was found between PF leptin levels and the stage of endometriosis (r = -0.578, p < 0.001). Moreover, a significant negative correlation was found between IL-15 and the stage of endometriosis (r = -0.425, p < 0.001). Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was found between PF leptin and IL-15 levels in endometriosis group (r = 0.381, p < 0.05). Conclusion: This work demonstrated that PF leptin and IL-15 concentrations were elevated in women with endometriosis particularly in the early stages of the disease. This could suggest a role for leptin and IL-15 in the pathogenesis of peritoneal endometriosis and development of endometrial peritoneal implants