{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,21]],"date-time":"2026-10-21T21:46:09Z","timestamp":1792619169589,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Press of International Journal of Ophthalmology (IJO Press)","issue":"5","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int J Ophthalmol"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,18]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>AIM: To investigate the effects of nintedanib on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cells derived from pterygium, aiming to explore its potential as a pharmacological intervention for pterygium treatment.\nMETHODS: Primary human pterygium epithelial cells (hPEC) and human conjunctival epithelial (hCJE) cells were isolated from patients, cultured, and characterized. The impact of nintedanib on transforming growth factor beta (TGF-\u03b2)-induced EMT was assessed by examining the expression of EMT markers such as vimentin and E-cadherin. Additionally, the modulation of the miR-23b-3p\/transforming growth factor beta receptor 2 (TGFBR2)\/Smad2 pathway by nintedanib was investigated to elucidate its potential antifibrotic mechanism.\nRESULTS: The expression of miR-23b-3p gene in hCJE cells was significantly higher than that in hPEC cells. Nintedanib effectively mitigated TGF-\u03b2-induced EMT in cells derived from pterygium, as evidenced by the downregulation of vimentin and upregulation of E-cadherin. When the nintedanib concentration exceeded 1 \u03bcmol\/L, it significantly suppressed the proliferation of hPEC cells and significantly inhibited the migration distance of hPEC cells within 48h (P&lt;0.01). The immunoprecipitation experiment showed that nintedanib modulated the TGFBR2 protein\u2019s response to TGF-\u03b2 independently of miR-23b-3p. Both nintedanib and transfection with miR-23b-3p mimic significantly inhibited the expression levels of phosphorylated Smad2, snail homolog 1 (Drosophila, SNAIL), and SNAI2 (also known as SLUG, snail family transcriptional repressor 2) proteins.\nCONCLUSION: Nintedanib is found to modulate the miR-23b-3p\/TGFBR2\/Smad2 pathway, suggesting a novel antifibrotic mechanism. These findings collectively highlight nintedanib\u2019s therapeutic potential in managing pterygium, marking a significant step toward non-surgical treatment options. Nintedanib may offer a targeted pharmacological treatment that could complement or reduce the need for surgical interventions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.18240\/ijo.2025.05.03","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]],"date-time":"2025-04-23T02:57:37Z","timestamp":1745377057000},"page":"779-791","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Nintedanib regulates miR-23b-3p\/TGFBR2 axis and competitively binds to TGFBR2 protein, inhibiting EMT process in human pterygium cells"],"prefix":"10.18240","volume":"18","author":[{"name":"Health Science Center, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, Zhejiang Province, China","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ke-Ke","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yan-Hong","family":"Liao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"name":"Ningbo Eye Institute, Ningbo Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Ningbo 315040, Zhejiang Province, China","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiao-Tian","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"name":"Ningbo Eye Institute, Ningbo Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Ningbo 315040, Zhejiang Province, China","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yong-Bo","family":"Bao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"name":"College of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Wanli University, Ningbo 315100, Zhejiang Province, China","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yan","family":"Gong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"name":"Ningbo Eye Institute, Ningbo Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Ningbo 315040, Zhejiang Province, China","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"7543","container-title":["International Journal of Ophthalmology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/ies.ijo.cn\/en_publish\/2025\/5\/20250503.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,23]],"date-time":"2025-04-23T02:57:38Z","timestamp":1745377058000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/ies.ijo.cn\/gjyken\/ch\/reader\/view_abstract.aspx?file_no=20250503&flag=1"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,18]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,18]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.18240\/ijo.2025.05.03","relation":{},"ISSN":["2222-3959","2227-4898"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2222-3959","type":"print"},{"value":"2227-4898","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,18]]}}}