Study on the role of vascular endothelial growth factor in the pathogenesis of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome

Objective: To explore the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the pathogenesis of (ovarian) hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) in rat model.Methods: There were six rats in each of OHSS group, controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) group and normal control group. The VEGF levels in serum and peritoneal washing fluid were measured by enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay. Expressions of VEGF protein and mRNA in the ovarian tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.Results: The serum VEGF levels in OHSS group, COH group and normal control group were (76.17±18.19) ng/L, (50.68±12.83) ng/L, and (53.68±13.09) ng/L, respectively, and the serum VEGF levels in OHSS group were significantly higher than those in COH group and normal control group ((P0.05,) P0.05 respectively). The peritoneal VEGF level in OHSS group was 17.12 ±1.71 ng/L, which was significantly higher than that in COH group (9.38±5.88) ng/L and normal control group (6.68±1.86) ng/L (P0.05, P0.05 respectively). No significant difference was found between COH group and normal control group. The expression of VEGF protein in ovarian tissue of OHSS group was higher than that of normal control group (P0.05) and COH group (P0.05). But there was no significant difference in (expression) of VEGF protein between COH group and normal control group. The expression of VEGF mRNA in ovarian tissue of OHSS group was higher than that of normal control group and COH group (P0.05, P0.05 respectively). Conclusions: VEGF may play a role in the pathogenesis of OHSS.