RESUMO
Objective To investigate the expression and significance of the endocrine gland-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (EG-VEGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) in adrenocortical lesions of primary aldosteronism. Methods The expressions of EG-VEGF, and VEGF were detected by immunohistochemistry and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR in samples of 18 cases of adrenocortical adenoma, 6 adrenocortical hyperplasia, and 8 normal adrenal cortex. The correlation between the expressions of EG-VEGF, VEGF, and clinicopathological parameters was analyzed. Results The expression of EG-VEGF or VEGF in adrenocortical adenomas was higher than that in adrenocortical hyperplasia or normal adrenal cortex ( all P＜0. 05 ), and the expression of EG-VEGF or VEGF between adrenocortical hyperplasia samples and normal adrenal cortex samples was indistinctive. There was no statistically significant correlation between EG-VEGF or VEGF expression and sex, age, blood pressure, serum potassium, plasma renin activity, except in case of serum aldosterone( P＜0.05 ). A positive correlation between EG-VEGF and VEGF ( P＜0. 01 ) was found. Conclusions EG-VEGF and VEGF may play a significant role in the formation and development of adrenocortical tumors in primary aldosteronism.