Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM: Pterygium is composed of proliferating fibrovascular tissue, and its formation and progression are closely related to the homeostasis of the extracellular microenvironment. However, few studies have examined the contribution of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) to either diagnostic or prognostic potential in pterygium. In this study, we investigated the contribution of a polymorphism in the promoter region of MMP-8 (-799C/T) and two non-synonymous polymorphisms (Val436Ala and Lys460Thr) to pterygium. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 134 patients with pterygium and 268 non-cancer controls patients were collected and the MMP-8 -799C/T, Val436Ala and Lys460Thr polymorphic genotypes of each subject were examined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). RESULTS: The results showed that the three polymorphisms investigated were not significantly associated with risk of pterygium. In addition, the stratified analysis showed that there was no interaction between MMP-8 genotype with age or gender on pterygium risk determination. CONCLUSION: Polymorphisms at MMP-8 -799C/T, Val436Ala and Lys460Thr may not mainly contribute to determining personal susceptibility to pterygium in the Taiwanese examined.