A Preliminary Study on the Expression of Connective Tissue Growth Factor in Keloids

Objective To investigate the role of connective tissue growth factor(CTGF)in the pathogenesis of keloid.Methods The expression of CTGF mRNA was detected with semiquantitative RT-PCR technique in keloid tissue and adjacent uninvolved skin from30patients.The expression of CTGF pro-tein was determined by SP immunohistochemistry in5keloid tissues and5normal skin samples.Results Compared with normal controls,the mean levels of CTGF mRNA expression were significantly increased in both keloid lesions and adjacent uninvolved skin(P0.01).There was no correlation between CTGF mR-NA expression and the course of keloids(P0.05).In immunohistochemistry study,CTGF protein was strongly expressed in keloid tissue,whereas it was not expressed in normal skin.Transitional phenomenon was observed from strong to weak expression of CTGF protein at the edge of keloid tissue.Conclusion These findings suggest that CTGF may be related to the development of persistent fibrotic tissue formation in keloids.CTGF may be a new potential target for the therapeutic intervention of keloids.