Hyperproliferation of conjunctival fibroblasts from patients with cicatricial pemphigoid
M. I. Roat, G. Sossi, C. Y. Lo and R. A. Thoft
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15218.
The characteristic conjunctival scarring in cicatricial pemphigoid is a
consequence of subepithelial fibrosis. The fibroblast is the cellular
element responsible for fibrosis. To increase the understanding of the
pathogenesis of abnormal fibrosis in cicatricial pemphigoid, the growth
characteristics of conjunctival fibroblasts, from untreated patients with
cicatricial pemphigoid (n = 9) and normal controls (n = 6), were studied in
tissue culture. The latent period until fibroblast outgrowth began from the
conjunctival explant was determined, as were the plating efficiency and
doubling time of cells from first-passage cultures. Outgrowths of
fibroblasts from patients with cicatricial pemphigoid appeared
significantly sooner than from controls, 8.1 +/- 3.8 vs 19.3 +/- 6.4 (mean
+/- SD) days. While there was no significant difference in the plating
efficiency between fibroblasts from cicatricial pemphigoid (mean +/- SD,
116.4% +/- 44.6%) and those from controls (71.0% +/- 39.4%), the doubling
time was significantly faster for cicatricial pemphigoid than for controls,
26.5 +/- 8.5 vs 50.7 +/- 7.8 hours. Thus, conjunctival fibroblasts from
patients with cicatricial pemphigoid are hyperproliferative in tissue
culture when compared with normal controls. Therefore, scarring, which
characterizes cicatricial pemphigoid, may be due, in part, to excessive
fibroblast proliferation.
