{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,18]],"date-time":"2026-01-18T02:26:17Z","timestamp":1768703177541,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,22]],"date-time":"2022-09-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1663804800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Vision"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) is a main regulator of cell differentiation, cell migration and angiogenesis in normal and abnormal conjunctiva epithelia, but specific mechanisms of its aberrant expression are yet to be investigated. In the present study, we investigated FGF-2 protein expression within several pterygia. Using a liquid-based cytology assay, we obtained cell specimens from pterygia and healthy tissues directly from patients. A combination of immunocytochemistry followed by digital image analysis showed significant overexpression of FGF-2 in all the examined pterygia. In 30\/60 (50%) cases there were high levels of staining intensity, whereas in the remaining 30\/60 (50%) cases there were moderate levels of expression. FGF-2 levels of the control group were significantly lower in comparison with the pterygia group. There was no significant correlation between FGF-2 levels and either sex or location of the pterygium. FGF-2 levels had a significant correlation with morphological characteristics of the pterygia. More specifically, FGF-2 levels were significantly higher in the pterygia with a fleshy morphology. Interestingly, recurrent lesions demonstrated high expression levels. An overexpression of FGF-2 has been observed frequently in pterygia, where it may play a crucial role in determining the lesion\u2019s progression. FGF-2 upregulation correlates with the morphology of pterygia and its tendency to recur. Cell spot analysis based on liquid-based cytology is a simple, yet effective, method for detecting a broad spectrum of protein markers and could be useful in analyzing potential pterygia patient samples.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vision6040058","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,23]],"date-time":"2022-09-23T04:07:07Z","timestamp":1663906027000},"page":"58","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Fibroblast Growth Factor-2 (FGF-2) Expression in Pterygia Using Cell Spot Arrays"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"6","author":[{"given":"Stylianos","family":"Mastronikolis","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Medical School, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Evangelos","family":"Tsiambas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cytology, 417 Veterans Army Hospital (NIMTS), 11521 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6648-8921","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Konstantinos","family":"Kagkelaris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Medical School, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marina","family":"Pagkalou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, 71500 Voutes, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5514-7083","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Panagiotis","family":"Plotas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Primary Health Care, School of Health Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sofianiki","family":"Mastronikoli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9PX, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dimitrios","family":"Roukas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cytology, 417 Veterans Army Hospital (NIMTS), 11521 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5646-1370","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Constantinos D.","family":"Georgakopoulos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Medical School, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"815","DOI":"10.1136\/bjo.2008.151852","article-title":"The science of pterygia","volume":"94","author":"Bradley","year":"2010","journal-title":"Br. 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