Effects of Xiaochaihutang, a Chinese medicine, and danazol on angiogenesis in a rat endometriosis model

AIM: To investigate the effects of Xiaochaihutang (XCH), a Chinese medicine, and danazol on angiogenesis factor and microvessel density (MVD) of endometriosis (EM). METHODS: EM rats were treated with XCH, Danazol (D), and XCH plus D (group S) for 4 weeks, respectively. The histomorphology and volumes of ectopic endometrium were observed, the amount of macrophages in peritoneal fluid of EM model rats was counted, the concentration of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) of EM model rats in serum, peritoneal fluid, and supernate of cultured macrophages were measured. In addition, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was detected in ectopic endometrium by immunohistochemical SABC technique, MVD was determined by immunostaining for CD34. Similar studies were performed in rats without treatment (U group) and another group with sham operation (C). RESULTS: Compared with U group, XCH group, D group, and S group displayed a significant atrophy of ectopic endometrium, reduced number of endometrial glands, decreased macrophage amounts and low concentrations of IL-8 and TNF-α in blood, peritoneal fluid, and supernate of cultured macrophages . The expression of VEGF and MVD of ectopic endometrium in U group were significantly higher than that of C group. After treatment, they all decreased significantly, especially in S group. CONCLUSIONS: Both XCH and danazol can affect angiogenesis of EM model rats, cause an obvious atrophy in ectopic endometrium. XCH in combination with danazol can enhance the inhibitory effect on angiogenesis of EM model rats.