Regulatory effects of mifepristone and progesterone on the secretion of interleukin-6 by cultured eutopic and ectopic endometrial cells

Objective To investigate the regulatory effects of mifepristone and progesterone on the secretion of interleukin 6 (IL 6) by endometrial and endometriosis cells in vitro. Methods Primary cultures of eutopic and ectopic endometrial cells from 9 cases of endometriosis were exposed to mifepristone (10 -6 mol/L, 10 -4 mol/L) and progesterone (1×10 -7 mol/L, 1×10 -5 mol/L) respectively. IL 6 secretion was analyzed in the culture medium by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results Mifepristone inhibited the IL 6 secretion of ectopic endometrial cells, with the concentrations of IL 6 was (1 914 33±799 28) μg/L in the 1×10 -6 mol/L group ( P 0 01) and (990 25±58 40) μg/L in the 10 -4 mol/L group ( P 0 01). Progesterone also inhibited IL 6 secretion of ectopic endometrial cells, with (2 575 89±119 75) μg/L in the 1×10 -7 mol/L group ( P 0 05) and (1 736 25±750 89) μg/L in the 10 -5 mol/L group ( P 0 01). Mifepristone restrained the secretion of IL 6 by eutopic endometrial cells, with (346 96±24 32) μg/L in the 1×10 -6 mol/L group ( P 0 01) and (270 22±36 15) μg/L in the 1×10 -4 mol/L group ( P 0 01). All the effects of down regulation were more obvious when the concentrations of mifepristone and progesterone increased ( P 0 05～0 01). Secretion of IL 6 by eutopic endometrial cells did not change significantly when incubated with progesterone ( P 0 05). Conclusion The inhibitory effects on the secretion of IL 6 by ectopic and (or) eutopic endometrium may provide one of the cellular therapeutic mechanisms of mifepristone and progesterone on endometriosis.