Circulating Levels of VEGF, mTOR and MAPK in Patients With Port-Wine Stains.

BACKGROUND

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways play important roles in the pathogenesis of port-wine stains (PWS). However, reports on circulating levels of VEGF, mTOR, and MAPK in PWS patients are rare.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the circulating levels of VEGF, mTOR, and MAPK in PWS patients compared to healthy controls.

METHODS

Thirty patients with PWS (15 with hypertrophic PWS and 15 with flat PWS) and 15 healthy controls were included. Human VEGF, mTOR, and MAPK enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were used to test plasma samples, and concentration values were calculated. Differences in the concentrations of VEGF, mTOR, or MAPK between the two groups were analyzed using t-tests or analysis of variance.

RESULTS

The circulating levels of VEGF, mTOR, and MAPK in the PWS group were significantly higher than in the healthy control group, with concentration values of 1159.76 ± 162.83 pg/mL vs. 762.18 ± 199.88 pg/mL, 219.26 ± 54.25 ng/L vs. 108.93 ± 52.47 ng/L, 11.41 ± 2.53 ng/L vs. 6.35 ± 2.42 ng/L (p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0001; respectively). VEGF circulating levels in the hypertrophic PWS group were significantly higher than in the flat PWS group (1217.97 ± 141.17 pg/mL vs. 1101.55 ± 166.52 pg/mL, p = 0.04). However, the circulating levels of mTOR or MAPK between the hypertrophic PWS and flat PWS groups were no significant differences (p = 0.87, p = 0.42; respectively).

CONCLUSION

The circulating levels of VEGF, mTOR, and MAPK were significantly higher in PWS patients than healthy controls, with VEGF levels being higher in hypertrophic PWS than in flat PWS.