Expression Of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor(VEGF) And Its Receptors(flt-1 And KDR) In The Lesional Skin Of SLE Patients And Clinical Significance

Objective:To study the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) and its receptors(flt-1 and KDR) in the lesional skin of SLE patients.Methods:Expression of VEGF in the skin lesion of SLE was examined by ELISA,while immunohistochemical method was employed to detect the expression and distribution characteristics of flt-1 and KDR,and the microvessel density(MVD) in the lesional skin was counted as well.Results:①The expression of VEGF in the lesional skin of stationary and active phase of SLE was elevated than normal controls,the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The significant overexpression of VEGF in lesion of active phase compared to that of stationary phase was also noted(P＜0.05).②The expression of flt-1 and KDR in lesional skin of both patients and normal controls was observed,and the levels between both groups have no significant difference.Flt-1 and KDR were distributed evenly in all layers of epidermis in normal controls,while they were expressed more intensively in granular layer of lesional skin in SLE patients,expecially in active phase.③The expression of flt-1 and KDR in dermis mainly presented in the papillary dermal microvessels,and is significantly higher than that of normal controls(P＜0.01).The highest level was recorded in actvie phase of SLE.④The MVD in lesional skin was higher than that in normal controls(P＜0.01),and MVD in the papillary dermal microvessels was significantly higher in flt-1 and KDR positive lesions than in negative lesions.There is positive correlation between every two indexes of flt-1,KDR and MVD.The related coefficient between flt-1 and KDR is 0.88,flt-1 and MVD is 0.66,KDR and MVD is 0.82(P＜0.01).Conclusion:The expression of VEGF and its receptors(flt-1 and KDR) in lesional skin of SLE is up-regulated. The expression of flt-1 and KDR in the papillary dermal microvessels is positively related to the angiogenesis of papillary dermal microvessels.