Papers of the Week

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and infertility are the common characteristics of endometriosis. Macrophages and related inflammation play important roles in endometriosis pain. TRPV1 and TRPA1 form a heteromeric channel which is related to endometriosis pain. In the present study, the inflammation-mediated macrophage polarization along with TRPV1/TRPA1 heteromers in endometriosis was investigated and . Macrophage polarization and TRPV1/TRPA1 heteromers in endometriosis tissue of patients were assayed, and was further investigated in endometriosis mice by co-culturing macrophages derived from mice in different groups with human endometrium cells. Our results indicated that macrophage polarization, as CD86 and CD206 positive macrophages, were accompanied by TRPV1/TRPA1 heteromers in endometriosis tissues of patients with pain. Inflammatory factors in peritoneal lavage fluid and serum of mice were correlated with TRPV1/TRPA1 expression in endometriosis tissues of mice as well as macrophage polarization which tended to be consistent with TRPV1/TRPA1 heteromers in endometriosis tissue. Moreover, macrophage polarization in enterocoelia induced ectopic endometrial cells migration with the increase in TRPV1/TRPA1 heteromers. Our results suggest that endometriosis-induced celiac inflammation might mediate macrophage polarization along with the increase of TRPV1/TRPA1 heteromers, which may play a key role in endometriosis pain.