Abstract
Purpose. It has been confirmed that inflammatory cytokines are involved in the progression of pterygium. Histamine can enhance proliferation and migration of many cells. Therefore, we intend to investigate the proliferative and migratory effects of histamine on primary culture of human pterygium fibroblasts (HPFs). Methods. Pterygium and conjunctiva samples were obtained from surgery, and toluidine blue staining was used to identify mast cells. 3-[4, 5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) was performed to evaluate the proliferative rate of HPFs and human conjunctival fibroblasts (HCFs); ki67 expression was also measured by immunofluorescence analysis. Histamine receptor-1 (H1R) antagonist (Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride) and histamine receptor-2 (H2R) antagonist (Nizatidine) were added to figure out which receptor was involved. Wound healing model was used to evaluate the migratory ability of HPFs. Results. The numbers of total mast cells and degranulated mast cells were both higher in pterygium than in conjunctiva. Histamine had a proliferative effect on both HPFs and HCFs, the effective concentration (10 μmol/L) on HPFs was lower than on HCFs (100 μmol/L), and the effect could be blocked by H1R antagonist. Histamine showed no migratory effect on HPFs. Conclusion. Histamine may play an important role in the proliferation of HPFs and act through H1R.
Highlights
Pterygium is a benign, chronic overgrowth of fibrovascular conjunctiva that lies over the nasal or temporal cornea
Our results revealed that both pterygium and conjunctiva showed the expression of mast cells (Figures 2(a)–2(d)), the numbers of total mast cells and degranulated mast cells per mm2 were 76.79 ± 6.40 and 23.46 ± 3.69 in pterygium, and they were both more than in conjunctiva (44.79 ± 6.40 and 9.60 ± 3.20) (Figure 2(e))
Our results show increased total mast cells and degranulated mast cells in pterygium and that histamine has a proliferative effect on human pterygium fibroblasts (HPFs) at a much lower concentration than on human conjunctival fibroblasts (HCFs)
Summary
Chronic overgrowth of fibrovascular conjunctiva that lies over the nasal or temporal cornea. It has been identified that the expression of genes associated with cell proliferation and angiogenesis, such as PCNA, mutant p53, MAP kinase signaling pathway, matrix metalloproteinases, and VEGFA, is higher in the pterygium than normal conjunctiva tissues [2,3,4,5,6]. Various chronic inflammatory stimuli, such as ultraviolet irradiation, sawdust exposure, and dry eye disease, have been confirmed to be related to pterygium formation by epidemiologic studies [8, 9] Multiple proinflammatory genes, such as nuclear factor-kappa beta (NF-κB), IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, the receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE), S100A8/A9, and other cytokines, have been reported to participate in the progression of pterygium [10,11,12,13]. Inflammatory cytokines were considered to play an important role in the development of pterygium
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
