Figure 1.

Percentage of T_reg cells in peritoneal fluid increases as endometriosis progresses. (a) Complete gating strategy for peritoneal T_reg cells. Gate R2 is inclusive of gate R1; cells of gate R2 represent CD45⁺ cells. Gate R3 is inclusive of gate R2; cells of gate R3 represent CD4⁺CD45⁺ cells. Peritoneal fluid from a patient with EMS stage III/IV is represented above. Flow cytometric analysis was used to determine the percentage of T_reg cells in peritoneal fluid of endometriosis patients in different stages. Numbers in quadrants indicate the percentage of cells. (b) Quantification of the percentage of T_reg cells in a. Values indicate mean±S.D., n (Control)=6, n (EMS stage I/II)=6, n (EMS stage III/IV)=6, ****P<0.0001, two-tailed, unpaired t-test. (c) Flow cytometric analysis was used to determine the expression of TGF- β₁ in peritoneal T_reg cells of endometriosis patients in different stages. Numbers in quadrants indicate the percentage of cells. (d) Quantification of TGF-β₁ expression of T_reg cells in c. Values indicate mean±S.D., n (Control)=6, n (EMS stage I/II)=6, n (EMS stage III/IV)=6, ***P<0.001, ****P<0.0001, two-tailed, unpaired t-test. EMS I/II, stage I and II of endometriosis; EMS III/IV, stage III and IV of endometriosis