Study On Regulation Of Angiogenesis And Antiangiogenic Therapy In Endometriosis

Endothemetriosis is a common gynecological disorder, affecting at least 10% of reproductive aged women. The pathogenesis of endometriosis is poorly understood; probably the disease arised from the implantation and growth of exfoliated menstrual endometrium on peritoneal and ovarian surfaces. Similar to tumor implants that are not capable of growing unless they develop a new blood supply, active endometrial explants might trigger an angiogenic switch, activating angiogenesis within and around the tissue. Some data have suggested that elevated levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) of women with endometirosis might be important in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. There are two known high affinity VEGF receptors, the fms-like tyrosine kinase(Flt-1) and the kinase insert domain containing receptor (KDR). Binding of VEGF to the receptors induces autophosphorylation and signal transduction. Flt-1 and KDR are both important in blood vascular endothelial cell proliferation, migration, and survival, as well as VEGF. It has been demonstrated that overexpression of VEGF and VEGFR by malignant cells supports the evelopment of tumour vasculature and contributes to the increased permeability of tumour vessels. No investigation has been conducted in the expression of VEGFR in endometriosis.Excessive endometrial angiogenesis has been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Given the fact that angiogenesis is a key step in...