gms | German Medical Science

102. Jahrestagung der DOG

Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft e. V.

23. bis 26.09.2004, Berlin

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Expression of human connective-tissue growth-factor (hCTGF) protein in membranes of posterior capsule opacification

Meeting Abstract

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  • corresponding author K. Wunderlich - Department of Ophthalmology, Department of Research, University of Basel, Basel/CH
  • J. Flammer - Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel/CH
  • P. Meyer - Department of Ophthalmology, Department of Pathology, University of Basel, Basel/CH

Evidenzbasierte Medizin - Anspruch und Wirklichkeit. 102. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Ophthalmologischen Gesellschaft. Berlin, 23.-26.09.2004. Düsseldorf, Köln: German Medical Science; 2004. Doc04dogP 067

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.egms.de/en/meetings/dog2004/04dog558.shtml

Published: September 22, 2004

© 2004 Wunderlich et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.

Outline

Text

Objective

Human connective tissue growth factor (hCTGF) appears to play a significant role in mediating fibrosis in several tissues. To gain further understanding of the role of hCTGF in the development of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) we investigated the location of hCTGF protein.

Methods

hCTGF protein was immunolocalized in paraffin-embedded sections of human eyes with PCO by using a specific antibody.

Results

In all samples, hCTGF protein could be detected in remnants of lens epithelial cells, which were located in the equatorial region of the capsular bag.

Conclusions

As shown in former studies, PCO membranes are composed of the wound healing markers collagen type I and tenascin. Here we can show that this expression is accompanied by the production of hCTGF protein in lens epithelial cells. These data support the hypothesis that hCTGF promotes PCO membrane formation by an autokrine mechanism in remnants of lens epithelial cells.