title: VEGF mRNA assessment in human pterygium: a new 'scope' for a future hope.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The lack of powerful evidence to support the efficacy of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy in human pterygium can be attributed to incomplete VEGF expression assessment by restrictive use of immunohistochemistry only and failure to use the molecular methods able to confirm immunohistochemical findings. By adding at least one more sensitive method to assess human pterygium VEGF expression, a more accurate selection of patients for bevacizumab therapy could be done and this would improve the efficacy of anti-VEGF therapy in human pterygium.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed VEGF mRNA amplification on paraffin-embedded specimens by applying the RNAscope method for the first time in human pterygium, an in situ hybridization-based technique able to detect VEGF mRNA as a single gene copy on paraffin-embedded samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Heterogeneous VEGF mRNA distribution and amplification inside the epithelial compartment of human pterygium were observed. Despite previous reports concerning the immunohistochemical expression of VEGF in the human pterygium fibrovascular compartment, no stromal components were characterized by VEGF mRNA amplification assessed by in situ hybridization in our study. A higher amplification score was observed in epithelium from recurrent pterygium, especially located in the basal and suprabasal epithelial cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on our findings we consider that in situ hybridization assessment of VEGF for human pterygium specimens can be a useful tool for reconsidering the selection of pterygium patients to be enrolled in anti-VEGF therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Angiogenesis Research Center, Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania.
authors.forename: Mihai G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Poenaru Sava
authors.forename: Marius L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Raica
authors.forename: Anca Maria G
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cimpean
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016612:Paraffin Embedding; D011625:Pterygium / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A