Expression of basic fibroblast growth factor, tumor necrosis fator-alpha and p53 in pterygium

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), tumor necrosis fator-alpha (TNF-a) and p53 in pterygium and the roles in pathogenesis of pterygium. Methods Surgically excised pterygia of 89 cases (1 02 eyes) patients with newly developed pterygium and 32 samples of normal conjunctiva as control were collected for immunohistochemistry to detected the expression of bFGF,TNF-α and p53. Results The expression ofbFGF, TNF-α and p53 in pterygium was significantly higher than those of normal conjunctiva specimens (χ2=42.33, P ＜0.001; χ2=104.66, P ＜0.001; χ2=110.11, P＜0.001 ). The expression of bFGF and TNF-α had significant difference between progressive and quiescent cases (χ2=18.78, P＜0.001; χ2=20.09, P＜0.001 ). The expression of p53 had no significant difference between progressive and quiescent cases (χ2=0.56, P =0.45). Conclusions The abnormal secretion of bFGF,TNF-α and p53 may be related to the pathogenesis ofpterygium. Key words: Pterygium; Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF); Tumor necrosis fator-alpha (TNF-α); P53