ABSTRACT
Objective To better understand the regulation of the soluble receptor of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), s-VEGFR-1 (or soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase, SFlt-1), in angiogenetic process in endometriosis. Methods Levels of free VEGF and s-VEGFR-1 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in peritoneal fluid from 28 subjects with surgically confirmed endometriosis, and 10 controls with no clinical evidence of the disease and other diseases. Meanwhile, we calculated a VEGF activity index by means of the ratio VEGF/s-VEGFR-1. Results We found higher VEGF concentration in endometriotic lesions than controls (P0.05). VEGF activity index in controls, stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ and stages Ⅲ-Ⅳ of endometriosis was 0.310, 0.276 and 0.273, respectively. VEGF and s-VEGFR-1 concentration were also higher in proliferative phase than in secretory phase in endometriotic lesions (P