Effects of long-term passive smoking on vascular endothelial growth factor and apoptosis markers expression in lens and corneal epithelial cells: An experimental study*

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.