Autoimmunity and antigenic targets in ovarian pathology
The involvement of autoimmune mechanisms in premature ovarian failure has been put forward by numerous investigators. In various other ovarian pathologies, such as idiopathic infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome, or endometriosis, similar mechanisms have been suggested. However, the exact role of...
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Published in | Human reproduction update Vol. 10; no. 2; pp. 163 - 175 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
Oxford University Press
01.03.2004
Oxford Publishing Limited (England) |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The involvement of autoimmune mechanisms in premature ovarian failure has been put forward by numerous investigators. In various other ovarian pathologies, such as idiopathic infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome, or endometriosis, similar mechanisms have been suggested. However, the exact role of autoimmunity in the pathophysiology of these diseases still remains controversial. The diagnosis of autoimmune ovarian disease relies on several clinical, biological and histological findings, but special interest has been focused on antiovarian autoantibodies. The search for these antibodies has been undertaken by several authors and yielded somewhat conflicting results which might be conditioned by methodological differences and by the multiplicity of potential immune targets. These targets, which comprise various steroidogenic enzymes, gonadotrophins and their receptors, the corpus luteum, zona pellucida and oocyte, are reviewed. Further investigation of these targets is required to improve the diagnostic tools that will lead to a precocious and reliable diagnosis of autoimmune ovarian disease, an appropriate clinical surveillance as well as the selection of patients who may benefit from immune‐modulating therapy and possibly recover ovarian function and fertility. |
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Bibliography: | istex:5747C47FAE4DA1E5A5FD82CB3E4E87878965700F local:dmh014 ark:/67375/HXZ-SZJ3K3XQ-F ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1 |
ISSN: | 1355-4786 1460-2369 |
DOI: | 10.1093/humupd/dmh014 |