ArticleThe American journal of pathology2009
Macrophages are alternatively activated in patients with endometriosis and required for growth and vascularization of lesions in a mouse model of disease.
Article in The American journal of pathology, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 219 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
219 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 440 citations in OpenAlex.
- WERF Endometriosis Phenome and Biobanking Harmonisation Project for Experimental Models in Endometriosis Research (EPHect-EM-Homologous): homologous rodent models.Molecular human reproduction · 2025Pooled it
- Molecular regulation of DNA damage and repair in female infertility: a systematic review.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2024Pooled it
- Review
- Targeting the IL-17C-M2 macrophage axis ameliorates fibrosis in endometriosis through MAPK/ERK signaling.Journal of translational medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Targeting the Immune Network in Endometriosis: A Comprehensive Review of Pathogenesis, Immunomodulation, and Emerging Therapies.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Decreased PD-1Scandinavian journal of immunology · 2026Article
- Proteomic Analysis of Cervicovaginal Fluid for Diagnostic Endometriosis Biomarker Discovery.Proteomics. Clinical applications · 2026Article
- Senescence-Driven Remodeling Defines an Aggressive and Immunomodulatory Subtype of Endometriosis.Aging cell · 2026Article
- Human Endometriotic Lesion-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles Impair Macrophage Function in the Peritoneal Microenvironment.Journal of extracellular vesicles · 2026Article
- Differential peritoneal resident macrophage depletion and omental milky spot disruption after high versus low clodronate-loaded liposome dose treatment.Immunology and cell biology · 2026Article
- Oxidative Stress Mediated by Macrophages Promotes Angiogenesis and Early Development of Endometriosis.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Concentration of Macrophage-Derived IL-1α and IL-12 in the Peritoneal Fluid of Patients With Endometriosis: A Pilot Case-Control Study.International journal of inflammation · 2026Article
- From local lesion to multisystem disease: integrated crosstalk among the gut microbiota, immune system, and host metabolism in endometriosis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Immune-nutritional interactions in endometriosis: current evidence and future perspectives in disease management.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- The role of IL-33/ST2 signaling in female reproductive diseases.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- Inflammation-fibrosis crosstalk in endometriosis: immune-stromal mechanisms linking lesion persistence to pain and infertility.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Burrowing behavior is a potential non-invasive proxy for lesion development in a syngeneic murine model of endometriosis.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- From menses to ovulation: the immunomodulatory role of monocyte cytokines in menstrual cycle physiology and reproductive health - a narrative review.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Review
- A role for gut mycobiome and altered fungal-bacterial interactions in women with endometriosis†.Biology of reproduction · 2025Article
159 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The mechanisms that sustain endometrial tissues at ectopic sites in patients with endometriosis are poorly understood. Various leukocytes, including macrophages, infiltrate endometriotic lesions. In this study, we depleted mouse macrophages by means of either clodronate liposomes or monoclonal antibodies before the injection of syngeneic endometrial tissue. In the absence of macrophages, tissue fragments adhered and implanted into the peritoneal wall, but endometriotic lesions failed to organize and develop. When we depleted macrophages after the establishment of endometriotic lesions, blood vessels failed to reach the inner layers of the lesions, which stopped growing. Macrophages from patients with endometriosis and experimental mice, but not nonendometriotic patients who underwent surgery for uterine leiomyomas or control mice, expressed markers of alternative activation. These markers included high levels of scavenger receptors, CD163 and CD206, which are involved in both the scavenging of hemoglobin with iron transfer into macrophages and the silent clearance of inflammatory molecules. Macrophages in both inflammatory liquid and ectopic lesions were equally polarized, suggesting a critical role of environmental cues in the peritoneal cavity. Adoptively transferred, alternatively activated macrophages dramatically enhanced endometriotic lesion growth in mice. Inflammatory macrophages effectively protected mice from endometriosis. Therefore, endogenous macrophages involved in tissue remodeling appear as players in the natural history of endometriosis, required for effective vascularization and ectopic lesion growth.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.