Evaluation of stem cell factor levels in peritoneal fluid and serum of women with endometriosis

Objective To investigate the levels of stem cell factor(SCF) in peritoneal fluid(PF) of women with endometriosis,and explore the possible involvement of SCF in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.Methods 35 patients who were diagnosed as endometriosis by operation were taken as study group,30 women who accepted laparoscopy due to infertility or ovarian cyst were taken as the control group.SCF levels in PF and serum collected from these two groups were measured by specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results SCF levels of PF in study group were significantly higher than those in control group(P 0.01).But there was no significant difference of serum SCF between study group and control group.SCF levels in PF were significantly higher than that in serum of study group(P 0.01).For SCF levels in PF of study group stratified by disease stage,women with stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ exhibited relatively higher SCF levels in PF,whereas SCF levels in PF with stage Ⅲ and Ⅳ were higher than those without endometriosis(P 0.01).There was no significant difference between secretory phase and proliferative phase in both groups(P 0.05).Conclusion We demonstrated an increase of SCF levels in PF associated with endometriosis.The present results suggest that SCF might play a role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.