Therefore, BPDE-like DNA adduct, p53 protein expression and p53 gene mutation were examined in this study to provide more molecular evidence to understand the cause of p53 gene mutation in pterygium.
After p53 protein was found to be abnormally expressed in the epithelium, researchers suggested that a pterygium may be a tumor, but additional evidence is required to support this hypothesis.
In analysis of specimens from pterygium patients as well as normal conjunctivas, VEGF121 and VEGF165 were identified as the only VEGF splice forms expressed.
We have analyzed the status and expression of the p53 gene in epithelial cells derived from pterygium and have demonstrated that the p53 gene has undergone a monoallelic deletion.
Fluorescence telomeric repeat amplification protocol was used to measure telomerase activity in whole pterygium samples from 9 cases and in the epithelium and stroma of pterygium from another 10 cases. p53 protein content was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in tissues obtained from 7 eyes, as well as in epithelial cell suspensions collected by brush cytology in 8 eyes.
Abnormal p53 expression in the epithelium of primary and recurrent pterygium specimens suggests that pterygium is a growth disorder rather than a degeneration.
Van der Woude and popliteal pterygium syndromes are caused by mutations in IRF6, but phenotypic variability within and among families with either syndrome suggests that other genetic factors contribute to the phenotypes.
The interferon regulatory factor 6 gene (IRF6) has been identified as the major Van der Woude (VWS) syndrome and popliteal pterygium (PPS) syndrome gene with mutations in the majority of the kindreds.
Genomic, cDNA and embryonic expression analysis of zebrafish IRF6, the gene mutated in the human oral clefting disorders Van der Woude and popliteal pterygium syndromes.
Three of them--namely T-box transcription factor-22 (TBX22), poliovirus receptor like-1 (PVRL1), and interferon regulatory factor-6 (IRF6)--are responsible for causing X-linked cleft palate, cleft lip/palate-ectodermal dysplasia syndrome, and Van der Woude's and popliteal pterygium syndromes, respectively; they are also implied in non-syndromic cleft lip and palate.
Profibrotic activation was induced by TGF-β1 in primary cultured human pterygium fibroblasts and the effect of rosiglitazone treatment on α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and extra cellular matrix proteins synthesis was detected by western blotting, real-time PCR, immunostaining, and flow cytometry.
The objective of the present study was to investigate the association between TGF-β1 gene expression and pterygium in atopic and nonatopic participants.
Fibroblasts and epithelial cells from primary pterygium and normal human conjunctiva were cultured in medium with or without transforming growth factor beta1 for up to 3 days. c-Myc protein expression was analysed by indirect immunofluorescence.
We collected peripheral blood samples from 90 patients diagnosed with pterygium and from 23 subjects with-out the disease in order to perform molecular analysis of the GSTM1 gene.