Role of Collagen-Binding Heat Shock Protein 47 and Transforming Growth Factor- 1 in Conjunctival Scarring in Ocular Cicatricial Pemphigoid

RESULTS. Compared with the control, increased accumulations of type I and type III collagens were detected by immunohistochemistry in fibrotic conjunctiva of patients with OCP. Weak and sparse expression of HSP47 was detected in the epithelial cells and stromal fibroblasts in control conjunctival tissues. In contrast to the control, the expression of HSP47 was markedly increased in the stromal fibroblasts in conjunctival tissues obtained from patients with OCP, as detected by immunohistochemistry. By quantitative real-time PCR, compared with control conjunctival tissues, a 3.4-fold increase in the expression of HSP47 was noted in the conjunctival tissues obtained from patients with OCP. Similar to conjunctival tissues, fibroblasts isolated from conjunctiva of patients with OCP exhibited 4.8fold increase in the expression of HSP47, compared with control fibroblasts. When conjunctival fibroblasts were treated with various concentration of TGF1, upregulation in the expression of HSP47 and type I collagen was detected.