Matrix metalloproteinase and cytokine expression in Tenon fibroblasts during scar formation after glaucoma filtration or implant surgery in rats

Failure of surgery for glaucoma is usually due to post‐surgical scarring (fibrosis), a process in which fibroblasts play a prominent role. We investigated the molecular mechanisms of such scarring by examining the expression of matrix metalloproteinases and cytokines in Tenon fibroblasts isolated from rats after glaucoma surgery. Filtration surgery was performed in one eye and implant surgery in the other; and Tenon fibroblasts were isolated from the tissue surrounding the bleb after surgery. The cells were cultured and examined for the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction, immunoblot and gelatin zymographic analyses. Culture supernatants were also assayed for cytokines with a multiplex array. The amounts of MMP‐1 and MMP‐3 mRNAs and proteins were greater in cells isolated after implant surgery than in those isolated after filtration surgery, with the progression of scar formation being more complete after the former surgery. The secretion of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) by cells isolated after filtration surgery was greater than that for cells isolated after implant surgery. Depletion of IL‐6 by RNA interference in cells isolated after filtration surgery increased the expression of MMP‐1 and MMP‐3 in these cells. These results thus suggest that the expression of MMP‐1 and MMP‐3 in Tenon fibroblasts is regulated by IL‐6 during, and may play an important role in, scar formation after glaucoma surgery. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.