Association of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) +405 G>C Polymorphism with Endometriosis in an Iranian Population

INTRODUCTION: Angiogenesis, growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels, is a crucial physiological process for tissue regeneration. This state is also seen in pathological processes such as malignancies and endometriosis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a major mediator of angiogenesis and vascular permeability which is known to play an important role in the development of endometriosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between +405 G>C VEGF polymorphism and endometriosis in an Iranian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study population was comprised of 105 women with and 150 women without laparoscopic evidence of endometriosis. Genomic DNA from blood cells was extracted using salting out method. Genotype and allele frequency of +405 G>C polymorphism was compared between women with endometriosis and the controls using PCR-RFLP. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 13.0 software. Chi-squared test and odds ratio plus 95% confidence interval were determined. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: While the +405 VEGF genotype frequencies in the case group were 41.3% G/G, 46.2% C/G and %12.5 C/C, they were 32% GG, %53.3 GC and 14.7% CC in the control group. The distribution of three genotypes and allele frequencies of +405 G>C VEGF polymorphism between the case and control groups did not demonstrate any significant difference. CONCLUSION: In contrast to previous studies, no significant correlation was found between +405 G>C VEGF polymorphism and endometriosis. Since this was the first study in an Iranian population, further investigation with bigger sample sizes may be indicated to be able to generalize the findings.