Carnitine analysis in pterygium.

Ayhan Saglik,Muslum Toptan,Fatih Mehmet Adibelli,Ismail Koyuncu,Ataman Gonel,Hamza Yalcin

doi:10.5935/0004-2749.20200001

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to measure the free carnitine and acylcarnitine levels in pterygium tissue and normal conjunctival tissue at the metabolomics level using tandem mass spectrometry. In this prospective, clinical randomized study, pterygium tissues and normal conjunctival tissues taken during pterygium excision with autograft were compared regarding their free carnitine and acylcarnitine profiles. After tissue homogenization, carnitine levels were measured using tandem mass spectrometry. The data were statistically analyzed with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Pterygium and normal conjunctival tissue samples from a single eye of 29 patients (16 females, 13 males; mean age, 54.75 ± 11.25 years [range, 21-78 years]) were evaluated. While the free carnitine (C0) level was significantly high in the pterygium tissue (p<0.001), acylcarnitine levels were significantly high in some esterized derivatives (C2, C5, C5:1, C5DC, C16:1, C18, methylglutarylcarnitine) (p<0.05). No statistically significant difference was determined for the other esterized derivatives (p>0.05). That the carnitine levels in pterygium tissue were higher suggests that acceleration of cell metabolism developed secondary to chronic inflammation and the premalignant characteristics of pterygium tissue. High carnitine levels may also effectively suppress the apoptosis process. The data reported in our study indicate that further, more extensive studies of the carnitine profile could help clarify the pathogenesis of pterygium.

Highlights

Pterygium is defined as a benign fibrovascular mass that begins at the bulbar conjunctiva and extends in the form of a wing to the cornea
While the free carnitine (C0) level was significantly high in the pterygium tissue (p
Analyses were performed on the pterygium and normal conjunctival tissues that were taken from the patients during pterygium surgery with conjunctival autograft transplantation

Summary

Introduction

Pterygium is defined as a benign fibrovascular mass that begins at the bulbar conjunctiva and extends in the form of a wing to the cornea. Pterygium tissue that extends to the cornea can lead to corneal surface impairments and vision loss and result in poor cosmesis[1,2]. Hereditary factors and several environmental factors, such as ultraviolet (UV) damage and human papilloma-. This content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attributions 4.0 International License. Chronic inflammation and DNA damage in pterygium tissue result in uncontrolled cell proliferation, tissue invasion, and local angiogenesis[1,3,4,5]. Uncontrolled proliferation associated with inhibition of the apoptosis pathway in pterygium tissue can alter the metabolic balance in the cells[8,9]

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