Serum Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 in Patients with and without Pterygia

Abstract

Purpose: Pterygium is a common fibro-vascular-related eye disease. The fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) helps reduce neovascularization. Previous studies have shown that the serum level of FGF21 correlates with vascular eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity. In this study, the serum FGF21 is compared in patients with and without pterygium.
 Methods: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study examines individuals with pterygium who visited the Ophthalmology Clinic of Khatam-al-Anbia Hospital in Mashhad, Iran, during 2017–2018. Control subjects were selected from healthy people without pterygium disease. Patients with a history of acute illness, chronic liver and kidney disease, diabetes, cancer, malnutrition and drug use, women who were pregnant or breastfeeding, and subjects who were taking anticonvulsants or glucocorticoids were excluded as these may affect insulin and glycosuria levels. Sixty people (30 in each group) were chosen using the convenient sampling method. Intravenous blood samples were taken from all patients. After preparing the patients, the freeze was checked using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method after samples had been taken. Data were analyzed by SPSS using an independent t-test, Mann–Whitney, Chi-square, Kruskal–Wallis, and Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests (

Association between serum fibroblast growth factor 21 level and sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes

“… 18 Another study conducted in Iran compared the serum FGF21 level between cases with and without pterygium, and observed that the mean serum FGF21 level in patients with pterygium was significantly lower than that in healthy subjects. 19 In the present research, compared with the patients in Q1 group (reference), patients in Q4 group had significantly higher risks of DR and STDR after adjusting for all the associated factors. ROC analysis further revealed that when the serum FGF21 level was >554.69 pg/mL, the patients with type 2 diabetes had over eight-time increased risk of STDR.…”

“…18 Another study conducted in Iran compared the serum FGF21 level between cases with and without pterygium, and observed that the mean serum FGF21 level in patients with pterygium was significantly lower than that in healthy subjects. 19 In the present †Adjusted for age (years), sex (men, women), duration of diabetes (year), body mass index (kg/m 2 ), systolic blood pressure (mm Hg); diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg); smoking (no, yes), drinking (no, yes), coronary artery disease (no, yes), cerebral infraction (no, yes), fasting plasma glucose (mmol/L), 2-hour postprandial blood glucose (mmol/L), glycosylated hemoglobin (%), glycosylated serum protein (%), blood urea nitrogen (mmol/L), serum creatinine (μmol/L), uric acid (μmol/L), total cholesterol (mmol/L), triglyceride (mmol/L), high- Pathophysiology/complications research, compared with the patients in Q1 group (reference), patients in Q4 group had significantly higher risks of DR and STDR after adjusting for all the associated factors. ROC analysis further revealed that when the serum FGF21 level was >554.69 pg/mL, the patients with type 2 diabetes had over eight-time increased risk of STDR.…”

Biomarkers in the Occurrence and Development of Pterygium

“…In addition to biomarkers from genetics, epigenetics, and proteomics, other biomarkers may also be used clinically. A recent study demonstrated that serum fibroblast growth factor 21, which is a target for neovascularization reduction, is lower in patients with pterygium [78]. Furthermore, fibroblast growth factor 21 is negatively related to cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL levels; therefore, impaired lipid metabolism should be considered for therapy.…”

Beyond the Liver: Liver-Eye Communication in Clinical and Experimental Aspects

“…The increased serum FGF21may be related to the compensation caused by FGF21 resistance, suggesting that FGF21 as a potential biomarker of DR. What's more, the analogues of long-acting FGF21 have recently been found to improve the permeability of tight junctions by increasing the level of tight junction proteins for example Claudin-1 in human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced human retinal microvascular endothelial cells and C57BL/6J mice, leading to the reduction of vascular leakage in retinal diseases (Tomita et al, 2020b). All in all, FGF21 has an effect on Pterygia (Yaghoobi et al, 2020), AMD, DR and many other eye diseases because of its ability to reduce ocular neovascularization. Therefore, it seems promising to use FGF21 as a treatment direction for ocular vascular diseases.…”