Immune dysregulation may be involved in the development of endometriosis. The anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 plays an important role in eliminating unwanted cells and cellular debris in a silent way. We investigated the modulatory role of IL-10 in the development of endometriosis. We observed that the serum level of IL-10 in patients with endometriosis was significantly higher than that in healthy subjects or in control subjects with other gynecological disease. Monocyte-derived dendritic cells acquired from male donors and subsequently conditioned with serum from women with endometriosis exhibited a tolerogenic phenotype, including increased IL-10 production, lower IL-12 secretion, and down-regulation of CD86 and HLA-DR molecules. Depletion of IL-10 activity in a C57BL/6 mouse model of surgically induced endometriosis significantly decreased the size of endometrial lesions. In contrast, IL-10 administration promoted the growth of endometrial lesions in this model. In addition, infiltrated plasmacytoid dendritic cells were the primary IL-10-secreting immune cells in endometrial lesions. Our findings suggest that IL-10 may suppress immunity against endometrial implants, contributing to development of endometriosis.
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