Hepatocyte growth factor concentrations are elevated in peritoneal fluid of women with endometriosis

The concentrations of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in peritoneal fluid (P F) from women with endometriosis (n = 36) and without endometriosis (n = 40 ) were measured. All of the PF samples examined contained detectable concen trations of HGF. The HGF concentrations in PF from women with stage III/IV endometriosis (0.906 ng/ml, 0.561-1.185; median, interquartile range) were significantly higher (P < 0.0001) than those from women without endometrios is (0.315 ng/ml, 0.251-0.472), The HGF concentrations from women with stage I/II endometriosis (0.417 ng/ml, 0.310-1.023) appeared to be intermediate. There were no apparent variations detected among the HGF concentrations in women in the follicular or luteal phases regardless of the presence of end ometriosis. Interestingly, HGF concentrations in PF from women on gonadotro phin releasing hormone analogues, independent of the presence of endometrio sis, were comparable with those from untreated women. Given the known mitog enic property of HGF in human endometrial cells, these results suggest that HGF might play a role in the progression of endometriosis.