title: Elevated vascular endothelia growth factor-A in the serum and peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis.
abstract: There has been emergence of evidence suggesting that specific variants of the vascular endothelia growth factor (VEGF) family, based on their ability to regulate angiogenesis, would be pivotal in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. This study was aimed at determining whether high levels of VEGF-A could be found in the serum and peritoneal fluid (PF) of patients with endometriosis. VEGF-A levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in serum and PF from 46 patients with surgically confirmed endometriosis, and 40 controls with no clinical evidence of the disease or detectable endometriotic lesions at the time of surgical examination. The results showed the mean VEGF-A levels were significantly higher in the serum and PF of patients with endometriosis than in the controls. The VEGF-A levels in the serum and PF of patients with severe endometriosis (stages III-IV) were significantly higher than in those with minimal endometriosis (P<0.001). It was concluded that endometriosis was associated with significant modulation in the levels of circulating VEGF-A.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China. whbdf@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Hongbo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Nowiah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gorpudolo
authors.forename: Yanhui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Dilu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Zehua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001202:Ascitic Fluid / Q000378:metabolism*; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010532:Peritoneal Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A