title: Increased expression of nestin in human pterygial epithelium.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the distribution of nestin-positive cells in pterygium, as well as the relationship between nestin-positive cells and proliferative cells in the pathogenesis of pterygium.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine pterygium specimens and 5 normal conjunctiva specimens were investigated. All explanted specimens were immediately immersed in 5-Ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine, and were subjected to hematoxylin and eosin staining, as well as immunostaining to detect nestin.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Small sub-populations of nestin-expressing cells in both normal and pterygial conjunctiva epithelium were found. These were located at the superficial layer of the epithelium, and were significantly increased (P=0.007) and spread out in the pterygial conjunctiva epithelium, even though these cells were mitotically quiescent.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In pterygium, more nestin-positive cells were present at the superficial layer of the epithelium. With growing scientific evidence that nestin plays an important role in defining various specialized cell types, such as stem cells, cancer cells and angiogenic cells, further investigations on the roles of nestin-expressing cells in pterygium may help to uncover the mechanisms of initiation, development and the prognosis of this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410000, Hunan Province, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Boon Chin
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Heng
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: distribution; human; nestin; proliferation; pterygium