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Journal Article Epublish 1 citation

PubMed: 40607413 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1582762

IL-24 producing regulatory T and B lymphocytes in endometriosis.

Front Immunol 16:1582762

Authors: Anna Ewa Kedzierska, Daria Lorek, Anna Slawek, Mikolaj Karmowski, Aleksandra Kalota, Jaroslaw Pajak, Agnieszka Chrobak, Krzysztof Grzymajlo, Anna Chelmonska-Soyta

Affiliations

  • Department of Experimental Therapy, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, WrocÅ‚aw, Poland.
  • Department of Immunology, Pathophysiology and Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, WrocÅ‚aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, WrocÅ‚aw, Poland.
  • Endometriosis Institute of EuroMediCare Specialist Hospital, WrocÅ‚aw, Poland.
  • 1st Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, WrocÅ‚aw Medical University, WrocÅ‚aw, Poland.
  • Clinical Department of Oncological and Procreative Gynecology of the 4th Military Clinical Hospital with the Polyclinic, WrocÅ‚aw, Poland.
  • Medical Faculty, WrocÅ‚aw University of Science and Technology, WrocÅ‚aw, Poland.
  • Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, WrocÅ‚aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, WrocÅ‚aw, Poland.

Abstract

Problem

Unbalanced production of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines by immune cells is a hallmark of endometriosis. IL-24, a member of the IL-10 family, is a pleiotropic cytokine produced by both non-immune cells like astrocytes, keratinocytes, pancreatic myofibroblasts, and endothelial cells and immune cells such as monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, NK cells, T cells (including Th2 and Th17), and B cells. However, its expression in regulatory T (Tregs) and B lymphocytes (Bregs) has not been explored. In this study, we determined the expression of IL-24 in Tregs and selected Breg subpopulations in women with endometriosis compared with healthy women.

Methods

Percentages of Tregs, B10 cells, immature B cells, and plasmablasts that produce IL-24 were measured in the peripheral blood of women with endometriosis (n=24) and healthy women (n=24) using flow cytometry.

Results

We observed an increased percentage of IL-24-producing Tregs in the total pool of women with endometriosis and in women with stages III and IV of endometriosis compared to controls. Within the Breg subpopulations, the percentages of IL-24-producing plasmablasts were higher in the overall endometriosis cohort as well as in women with stage IV endometriosis compared with healthy women. In contrast, the percentages of IL-24-producing immature B cells were lower in the endometriosis group than that in the control group.

Conclusions

We have shown, for the first time, that Tregs and Bregs secrete IL-24 and that their percentages are altered in endometriosis. The significance of this cytokine secretion by regulatory cells is unclear, but we speculated that IL-24 may enhance the improper immunosuppressive activity of Tregs and plasmablasts in endometriosis, which enables the implantation and growth of endometrial lesions outside the uterus.

MeSH

Cytokines, Endometriosis, Cells, Lymphocytes, Killer Cells, Natural, Precursor Cells, B-Lymphoid, Immune System Diseases, B-Lymphocytes