Impairment of autophagy promotes human conjunctival fibrosis and pterygium occurrence via enhancing the SQSTM1-NF-κB signaling pathway.

ABSTRACT: Pterygium is a common ocular disease with a high recurrence rate, characterized by hyperplasia of subconjunctival fibrovascular tissue. Autophagy, an important process to maintain cellular homeostasis, participates in the pathogenic fibrosis of different organs. However, the exact role of autophagy in pterygium pathogenesis remains unknown. Here, we found that autophagic activity was decreased in human pterygium tissues compared with adjacent normal conjunctival tissues. The in vitro model of fibrosis was successfully established using human primary conjunctival fibroblasts (ConFB) treated with transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), evidenced by increased fibrotic level and strong proliferative and invasive capabilities. The autophagic activity was suppressed during TGF-β1- or ultraviolet

SUBMITTER: He Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10320757 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature