Expression and significance of delta-like ligand 4 and vascular endothelial growth factor in endometriosis

Abstract:

Objective：To investigate the expression and significance of delta-like ligand 4（DLL4） and vascular endothelial growth factor（VEGF） in endometriosis（EMs）. Methods：Expressions of DLL4 and VEGF in 48 cases of ectopic endometrium（group A），37 cases of eutopic endometrium（group B） and 30 cases of normal endometrium（group C） was detected by the immunohistochemical SP method. Results：（1）In groups A，B，C，expression of DLL4 was （145.01±10.47），（115.56±10.87） and （90.08±8.56） while ex－pression of VEGF was （148.48±8.36），（122.79±5.68） and （108.75±7.39），with significantly differences among 3 groups（F=279.113 and F=296.049，P<0.05）. （2）In group A and B，expressions of DLL4 and VEGF showed a positive correlation（r=0.828 and r=0.773，P<0.05），but in group C，their expression showed no correlation. （3）In group A and B，expression of DLL4 and VEGF at stageⅠandⅡ were significantly lower than that at stage Ⅲ and Ⅳ（P<0.05）. Conclusions：DLL4 and VEGF may play an important role in the pathogenisis of EMs.