The Expression of Osteopontin and Integrin αvβ3 in Endometriosis and their Effects on Angiogenesis

Endometriosis is a common disease of women. In the present study, the expression of osteopontin (OPN), integrin αvβ3 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in tissue of endometriosis were studied in order to investigate their functions and the clinical value. The result of the present study revealed that OPN was expressed in the gland epithelium cells, and the expression of OPN in ectopic endometrium and eutopic endometrium of endometriosis were higher than that of eutopic endometrium of myoma. Ectopic endometrium could not change from proliferative to secretory stage; integrin αvβ3 was expressed in the cytoplasm of ectopic endometrium cells and membrane. The expression of integrin αvβ3 in endometriosis lesion was higher than that of eutopic endometrium and eutopic endometrium of myoma. VEGF was expressed in the cytoplasm of ectopic endometrium cells where brown granules were found. The expression of VEGF in endometriosis lesion was higher than that of eutopic endometrium and eutopic endometrium of myoma. The expression of OPN and integrin αvβ3 in ectopic endometrium showed a good linear relationship and the correlation coefficient was 0.7798. There was a significantly positive correlation between OPN, integrin αvβ3 and VEGF, and the correlation coefficients were 0.596 and 0.568, respectively, but there was no relationship among OPN, integrin αvβ3 and VEGF in eutopic endometrium of myoma. So we conclude that OPN, integrin αvβ3 and VEGF may correlate with adherence and aggression in endometriosis. It provides evidence for the cooperative roles of OPN, integrin αvβ3 and VEGF in angiogenesis, which can promote the evolvement of endometriosis.