Expression and clinical significance of endostatin and angiostatin in pterygium

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of endostatin (ES) and angiostatin (AS) in pterygium. Methods From January 2016 to December 2018, 60 cases (60 eyes) of pterygium tissue and 60 cases (60 eyes) of normal human conjunctival tissue were selected from the eye surgery of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Yiwu.HE staining was used to observe the morphological changes of pterygium and normal conjunctival tissue.Western blot was used to measure ES and AS protein levels in the tissues of pterygium group and control group. Results HE staining showed that in the normal bulbar conjunctival tissue, the stromal layer was connective tissue and the epithelial layer was columnar epithelium; in the pterygium, the basal layer had a large number of new blood vessels, fibroblasts, collagen fibers, and inflammatory cells infiltrated around the blood vessels; the epithelium showed different degrees of hyperplasia.The protein levels of ES and AS in pterygium tissues[(0.35±0.12), (0.62±0.17)] were higher than those in the control group [(0.13±0.08), (0.16±0.09)](t=11.816, 18.524, P=0.000, 0.000). The protein levels of ES and AS in the pterygium tissues of the recurrent group [(0.63±0.15), (0.87±0.21)] were higher than those in the initial group [(0.22±0.11), (0.45±0.16)](t=17.073, 12.323, P=0.000, 0.000). There was positive correlation between ES and AS in pterygium (r=0.571, P=0.000). Conclusion The levels of ES and AS in pterygium tissue are increased, and ES and AS may be involved in the occurrence and recurrence of pterygium. Key words: Pterygium; Inhibins; Angiostatins; Endothelial cells; Recurrence