Open AccessEffects of long-term passive smoking on vascular endothelial growth factor and apoptosis markers expression in lens and corneal epithelial cells: An experimental study*
Author(s) -
Fatih Özçura,
Sema Oruç Dündar,
İbrahim Meteoğlu,
Mehmet Erkut Kara
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
turkish journal of medical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.277
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1303-6165
pISSN - 1300-0144
DOI - 10.3906/sag-0902-12
Subject(s) - apoptosis , vascular endothelial growth factor , immunohistochemistry , andrology , biology , vascular permeability , medicine , endocrinology , immunology , vegf receptors , biochemistry
doi:10.3906/sag-0902-12 Effects of long-term passive smoking on vascular endothelial growth factor and apoptosis markers expression in lens and corneal epithelial cells: An experimental study* Aim: To determine the effects of smoking on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and apoptosis in lens and corneal epithelial cells. Materials and methods: This experimental study included 38 Sprague–Dawley rats. Rats were randomly assigned into 4 groups. Groups 1 (males) and 2 (females) were exposed to smoke beginning on the 21st day after birth, whereas groups 3 (males) and 4 (females) were not exposed to smoke. At the end of the fourth month, right eyes of all rats were enucleated. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed in enucleated eyes in terms of VEGF and apoptosis markers, namely caspase-3, Bcl-X, and p53. Comparisons between the groups were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: There was no significant difference in the lens epithelial cells in terms of VEGF and apoptosis markers between the rats exposed to smoking and those not exposed. However, there was a significan