Relationship between angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis in recurrent pterygium

• Published in: International journal of ophthalmology 2012, Vol.5 (6), p.655-660
• Main Authors: Qi, Chao-Xiu, Zhang, Xiao-Dong, Yuan, Jin, Yang, Jie-Zhen, Sun, Yi, Wang, Tao, Ye, Hui, Ling, Shi-Qi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: angiogenesis; Basic Research; lymphangiogenesis; pterygium; recurrent; recurrent pterygium
• ISSN: 2222-3959; 2227-4898
• DOI: 10.3980/j.issn.2222-3959.2012.06.01

AIM: To examine the relationship between angiogenesis and lymphangigenesis in recurrent pterygia. METHODS: Tissues from 34 excised recurrent pterygia (including 12 Grade 1, 10 Grade 2, and 12 Grade 3) were involved in the study and tissues from 7 nasal epibulbar conjunctivae segments were used as controls. Sections from each pterygium were immunostained with CD31 and LYVE-1 monoclonal antibodies to evaluate lymphatic microvessel density (LMVD) and blood microvessel density (BMVD), and the relationship between LMVD and BMVD in the pterygium was examined. RESULTS: There was a large number of CD31(+) LYVE-1(-) blood vessels but only a few CD31(+)LYVE-1(+) lymphatic vessels in grades 1 and 2 pterygium. However, lymphatic vessels were dramatically increased in grade 3 pterygium. LMVD correlated closely with BMVD in all pterygia, including grades 1, 2 and 3 peterygium patients(all P values <0.01). Although both the density of blood and lymphatic vessels increased in recurrent pterygia, lymphatic vessels developed much faster than blood vessels, especially in grade 3 pterygia. CONCLUSION: There is a significant but not parallel relationship between angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis in recurrent pterygium. The outgrowth of blood and lymphatic vessels provide evidence that immunological mechanism may play a role in the development and recurrence of pterygium.