Expression of angiopoietin-1 and-2 in endometriosis and adenomyosis

Objective To study the role of angiopoietin-1(Ang-1)and angiopoietin-2(Ang-2)in the pathogenesis of endometriosis and adenomyosis.Methods The expression of Ang-1 and Ang-2 in the eutopic endometrium of 30 patients with endometriosis(endometriosis group)and 30 with adenomyosis(adenomyosis group)was detected immunohistochemically by SP method.Twenty-six normal endometrium served as controls.Results Ang-1 and Ang-2 were located in the cytoplasma of endothelium,epithelial glands and stroma.The expression of Ang-1 in endometriosis group was higher than that in normal endometrium(P0.01).The expression of Ang-2 in endometriosis and adenomyosis groups were higher than that in normal endometrium(P0.01).Conclusions The increase of Ang-1 and Ang-2 in eutopic endometrium in patients with endometriosis and adenomyosis indicates that they might play a critical role in the pathophysiology and development of endometriosis and adenomyosis.