الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 98 |  |  |
| | | from | 98 | | |
Abstract
In summary, according to our knowledge this is the first study to analyze the effect of thyroxin on TGF-β1, collagen I and V expression in normal/keratoconus HCFs and keratocytes. Thyroxine may affect the Col I protein expression in KC-HCFs, but not in KC keratocytes, in vitro. Thyroxine administration has no effect on TGF-β1, collagen I and V expression of keratoconus keratocytes. Therefore, an increased thyroxin concentration alone seems not to be causally related to the development of keratoconus. In our work we showed that, keratoconus and normal keratocytes are different in proliferation potential responding to exposure of thyroxine. Keratoconus keratocytes appear to have reduced proliferation potential and this finding could be associated with the altered corneal homeostasis in keratoconus. Further studies are required in order to delineate the complex mechanisms of hormonal influences on corneal cell physiology and homeostasis, especially in keratoconus. Our results suggest that hormonal influences may modulate the secretion of growth factors by human corneal keratocytes in vitro. The effects are different in normal and keratoconus keratocytes, which may reflect the alteration of receptors expression by corneal keratocytes in keratoconus. Alterations of the intracellular pathways have to be further analyzed in the future.