摘要Background Myopia is a common disorder and the incidence has increased yearly,but its pathogenesis remains unclear.The aim of this study was to investigate the possible role of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and its receptor c-Met in the development of lens-induced myopia in guinea pigs.Methods Sixty one-week-old guinea pigs were chosen.The right eyes were treated with-10.0 diopters (D) lenses as the lens-induced myopia group; the left eyes remained untreated as the control group.Six weeks later,refractive status and axial length were determined by streak retinoscopy and A-scan ultrasonography,respectively.The guinea pigs were killed and both eyes collected.Morphological changes were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining.The expression levels of HGF,c-Met,and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) mRNA and protein in the posterior sclera were analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blotting,respectively.Results The lens-induced myopia group became myopic with a significant increase in axial length and a significant decrease in refraction.Compared with the control group,the posterior retina and sclera were thinner in the lens-induced myopia group.The expression levels of HGF and MMP-2 mRNA and protein and of phosphorylated c-Met protein were significantly higher in the posterior sclera of the lens-induced myopia group than in the control group (all P ＜0.05).In the lens-induced myopia group,the expression level of MMP-2 in the posterior sclera positively correlated with the expression level of HGF (r=0.902,P ＜0.05) and phosphorylated c-Met (r=0.885,P ＜0.05).Conclusion HGF/c-Met might play a role in the development of lens-induced myopia in guinea pigs by upregulating the expression of MMP-2.