Abstract
In present study, we are to test the relationship between cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) and angiogenesis in pterygium tissues from a group of Chinese patients. Here forty-five primary pterygium tissues and twenty-three normal bulbar conjunctival tissues were obtained during ophthalmologic surgeries. The primary pterygium samples were treated for the immunohistochemical evaluation of COX-2, CD31 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibodies for different tissues. In order to evaluate the relationship between COX-2 and neovascularization, a statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS 13.0 statistical software package. As results, in our study, 36 (80%) of the primary pterygia samples were found to be positive for COX-2 staining, which was not found in the normal conjunctivas. The density of the microvessels (MVD) was significantly increased in the COX-2 positive patients when compared to the COX-2 negative ones (19.06 ± 1.84 vs.10.44 ± 2.98, P=1.36×10−5) in the pterygia cases. In the group that was positive for COX-2, there were 39 (86.7%) samples with VEGF expression. Furthermore, the staining of both COX-2 and VEGF was localized to the lower and middle layers of the epithelium and the endothelial cells of the microvessels. When analyzed the relation between them, the expression of COX-2 showed a significant correlation with the MVD (P = 4.02×10−4) and VEGF (p = 2.72×10−4). In conclusion, the present study showed that COX-2 may play an important role in stimulating the angiogenesis of pterygium in concert with VEGF.
Highlights
Human pterygium is considered to be one of the most common vision-threatening diseases among conjunctival disorders in ophthalmology
As ultraviolet radiation (UV) is one of the most important factors in the pathogenesis of the pterygium, the cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) effect the functional roles in UVrelated disease, and COX-2 has the role in regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), the relationship between the expression of COX-2 and neovascularization in human pterygia needs to clarify
Based on the expression of COX-2 elevated in pterygia, the function of COX-2 in UV-related disease, the aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of COX-2 in Chinese pterygium tissues, and evaluate a possible relationship between COX-2 and angiogenesis
Summary
Human pterygium is considered to be one of the most common vision-threatening diseases among conjunctival disorders in ophthalmology. Angiogenesis was thought to be the key initial event in the pathogenesis of pterygium [7], which is supported by the overexpression of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) found in pterygium. Several studies have reported that COX2 is a key enzyme for cytokine-induced angiogenesis, www.impactjournals.com/oncotarget and that it can regulate some angiogenic factors, such as VEGF in gastric and colon tumors [11, 12]. As UV is one of the most important factors in the pathogenesis of the pterygium, the COX-2 effect the functional roles in UVrelated disease, and COX-2 has the role in regulation of VEGF, the relationship between the expression of COX-2 and neovascularization in human pterygia needs to clarify
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