Fibrosis in the Anterior Segments of the Eye (2010)
Crawley Vision Research Center, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
Abstract
The anterior segment of the eye ball, i. e., cornea and conjunctiva, serves as the barrier to the external stimuli. Cornea is transparent and is a “window”of the light sense, while conjunctiva covers the sclera, the main part of the eyeshell. Fibrosis/scarring in cornea potentially impairs vision by the reduction of its transparency and the alteration of the regular curvature. Fibrotic reaction in conjunctiva is also of a clinical importance because inflammatory fibrosis in this tissue affects the physiology of the cornea and also of a problem post-eye surgery. In this review we discuss on the topic that is quite critical in vision. Although various growth factors are considered to be involved in, focus was put on the roles of transforming growth factorβ (TGFβ).