Articles

SERUM LEVEL OF VEGF-D IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY LYMPHEDEMA

Authors: AM Fink ( ) , I Kaltenegger ( ) , B Schneider ( ) , J Fruhauf ( ) , W Jurecka ( ) , A Steiner ( )

Abstract

Recent studies have indicated that vascular endothelial growth factor-D (VEGF-D) stimulates lymphangiogenesis in humans. Furthermore, mutations of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (VEGFR-3) have been observed in families with hereditary lymphedema. The lack of stimulation of lymphangiogenesis could lead to production of even more VEGF-D to obtain stimulation of lymphangiogenesis resulting in a high serum level of VEGF-D.

The aim of the present study was to compare the serum level of VEGF-D in patients with primary lymphedema with healthy controls.

In a prospective study, the serum level of VEGF-D was determined by a solid phase ELISA in patients with primary lymphedema and compared with healthy controls.

In the group of patients with primary lymphedema the serum level of VEGF-D was significantly higher compared with controls (p=0.0047).

The increased levels of VEGF-D observed in the present study suggest that primary lymphedema may be based on defective stimulation of VEGFR-3.

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How to Cite: Fink, A. , Kaltenegger, I. , Schneider, B. , Fruhauf, J. , Jurecka, W. & Steiner, A. (2004) “SERUM LEVEL OF VEGF-D IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY LYMPHEDEMA”, Lymphology. 37(4).