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De-Quan Li, MD, PhD; Sao-Bing Lee, MD; Zeenat Gunja-Smith, PhD; Yunqi Liu; Abraham Solomon, MD; Daniel Meller, MD; Scheffer C. G. Tseng, MD, PhD

Arch Ophthalmol. 2001;119:71-80.

Background  The balance between matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) determines the extent of connective tissue degradation and remodeling.

Objective  To determine whether pterygium, characterized by fibrovascular invasion into the cornea, may in part be mediated by an increased activity of MMPs.

Materials and Methods  Expression of transcripts and proteins of MMPs, TIMPs, and urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) by cultured human pterygium head, body, and subconjunctival fibroblasts, and normal corneal and conjunctival fibroblasts were determined by Northern hybridization, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Western blotting, zymography, and quantitative collagenase assay, respectively.

Results  Compared with normal conjunctival fibroblasts from 6 subjects, the expression of MMP-1 and MMP-3 transcripts was dramatically increased in pterygium head fibroblasts of 8 patients, but not in pterygium body fibroblasts of 6 patients. The protein levels and collagenolytic and caseinolytic activities of MMP-1 and/or MMP-3 were also markedly increased in pterygium head fibroblasts. The MMP-1 and MMP-3 proteins and activity decreased in order from pterygium head to body to subconjunctival fibroblasts. There was no difference in the transcript and protein expression of MMP-2, TIMP-1, TIMP-2, and uPA among these groups.

Conclusion  Pterygium head fibroblasts express increased mRNA, protein, and activities of MMP-1 and MMP-3.

Clinical Relevance  Overexpression of MMP-1 and MMP-3, a phenotype previously linked with UV exposure in dermal fibroblasts to explain the pathologic finding of elastotic degeneration, suggests that pterygium head fibroblasts might be intrinsically altered by UV, which might be responsible for corneal invasion.

From the Ocular Surface and Tear Center, Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (Drs Li, Lee, Solomon, Meller and Tseng), and Departments of Medicine (Dr Gunja-Smith and Ms Liu) and Cell Biology and Anatomy (Dr Tseng), University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Fla.

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