Immunohistochemical study of angiogenic factors in endometrium and endometriosis

The proliferative activity and angiogenic factors of pelvic endometriosis a nd uterine endometrium and their correlation with different pigmented lesio ns are important throughout the menstrual cycle. The proliferative activity and/or expression of angiogenic factors appears to be different between en dometrium and endometriosis, and also different in each pigmented lesion. I mmunohistochemical studies using computerized image analysis have shown tha t in normal endometrium, the PCNA index shows cyclic variation, bur no cycl ic change is observed in endometriosis. In the pelvic peritoneum, the PCNA index is higher in red lesions compared to black and white lesions. There i s no difference in VEGF expression among different pigmented lesions. Howev er, a cyclic variation of VEGF concentration was found in the peritoneal fl uid of patients with endometriosis. As a newly determined angiogenic factor , the number of endoglin-positive cells and the mean endothelial area were higher in red lesions than in black or white lesions. These results suggest that the pathogenesis and activity of endometriosis possibly depends on-in ternal angiogenesis. The cellular activity of endometriotic lesions may not necessarily coincide with the regulation of angiogenesis, and may not be s ynchronized in each pigmented pelvic lesion of endometriosis. Copyright (C) 1999 S. Kaiger AG, Basel.