Expressions and significances of C-kit and its ligand-stem cell factor in endometriosis

Objective:To explore the expressions of c-kit receptor and stem cell factor(SCF) in ectopic endometrium and ectopic endometrium of patients with endometriosis.Methods:Immunohistochemical SABC method was used to detect the expression levels of c-kit and SCF in ectopic endometrium(eutopic endometrium group) and eutopic endometrium(eutopic endometrium group) of 32 patients with endometriosis,then the results were compared to those of eutopic endometrium of 30 cases without endometriosis(control group).Results:The mean optical densities(MODs) of c-kit positive expression in ectopic endometrium group and eutopic endometrium group were(0.42±0.09) and(0.37±0.07),respectively,there was no significant difference between the two groups(P0.05),but the MODs in the above-mentioned groups were significantly higher than that in control group(0.28±0.07)(P0.05).The positive expression levels of SCF in ectopic endometrium group and eutopic endometrium group were(0.27±0.07) and(0.24±0.09),respectively,there was no significant difference between the two groups(P0.05),but the positive expression levels of SCF in the above-mentioned groups were significantly higher than that in control group(0.15±0.04)(P0.05).In ectopic endometrium group,there was no significant difference in expression levels of c-kit and SCF between proliferative phase and secretory phase(P0.05);in eutopic endometrium group and control group,the expression levels of c-kit and SCF at secretory phase were significantly higher than those at proliferative phase(P0.05).At proliferative phase and secretory phase,the expression levels of c-kit and SCF in eutopic endometrium group were significantly higher than those in control group(P0.05).In ectopic endometrium group,there was no significant difference in expression levels of c-kit and SCF between stage Ι/Ⅱ and stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ(P0.05).Conclusion:Over-expressions of c-kit and SCF in ectopic endometrium and eutopic endometrium of the patients with endometriosis indicate that c-kit and SCF may play important roles in the occurrence and development of endometriosis.