Cellular Senescence in Pterygium

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#To determine cellular senescence in pterygium by studying the expression of senescence-related markers. @*Methods@#Impression cytology was performed on 28 eyes of 28 patients diagnosed with pterygium or pinguecula from August2019 to January 2020. From the obtained specimen, the expression of senescence-associated beta galactosidase (SA-β-gal),p16, and interleukin (IL)-1β was examined. @*Results@#The average percentage of SA-β-gal positive cells was significantly higher for the pterygium group (67.63 ± 16.61%)compared to the control group (32.64 ± 8.98%) (p< 0.01). The fluorescent expression intensity of IL-1β was higher in the pterygiumgroup (22.53 ± 19.21) compared to the control group (11.38 ± 6.30) (p= 0.02), and the p16 fluorescence expression intensitywas also higher in the pterygium group, showing 42.79 ± 23.65, compared to the control group values (26.73 ± 18.34)(p = 0.01). @*Conclusions@#Cellular senescence specific markers, SA-β-gal, IL-1β, and p16, were expressed in pterygium, indicating a newpossible framework for the development and progression of pterygium.