REGULATORY TRANSPORT PROTEINS AND CYTOKINES IN THE BLOOD OF PATIENTS WITH PROLIFERATIVE DISEASES OF THE UTERUS
Objective. To determine the involvement of regulatory transport proteins and related proinflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of uterine myoma and adenomyosis. Material and methods. The investigators determined the blood levels of α-macroglobulin (α<sub>2</sub>-MG), α<sub>1</sub>-antitrypsin (α<sub>1</sub>-AT), and pregnancy-associated α<sub>2</sub>-glycoptotein (a<sub>2</sub>-PAG) by a quantitative rocket immunoelectrophoretic assay and those of lactoferrin (LF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-8), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) by an enzyme immunoassay in perimenopausal women. Results. All the patients were ascertained to have elevated TNF-a and IL-6 levels; moreover, the concentration of α-AT remained unchanged compared to those observed in healthy women. A manifold (17-18-fold) increase in the content of IL-8 in patients with myoma and comorbidity differed from the changes in the values of this cytokine in those with adenomyosis who showed a not more than 6-fold rise in its concentration. There was an 8-fold elevation in the level of VEGF in adenomyosis and comorbidity, but its concentration in uterine myoma was only doubled. The high level of LF with low α<sub>2</sub>-MG values were established in uterine myoma, but comorbidity was characterized by higher α<sub>2</sub>-PAG concentrations. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that an immune response is multi-faceted in patients with uterine myoma and ademyosis and, despite the similarity of clinical symptomatology, which has been discussed by many authors, and uniform triggers, our data demonstrate some dissimilarities in the pathogenetic mechanisms of proliferative diseases of the uterus.