Cytokine Profiling in Patients With Exudative Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the cytokine profiles in plasma and aqueous humor of patients with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) due to exudative AMD and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). METHODS. In this cross-sectional study, 16 patients clinically diagnosed with AMD, 18 patients with PCV, and 50 age-and sex-matched cataract patients without AMD/PCV (controls) were enrolled. Study subjects were treatment naïve, and 200 lL undiluted aqueous humor and 5 mL peripheral venous blood were collected from the study subjects. Clinical samples were analyzed for 41 different cytokines by Luminex bead-based multiplex assay. Cytokines concentrations with detection rates of 50% or more were included for the analysis, and the differences in plasma and aqueous humor cytokines levels between each group were analyzed. RESULTS. The age of the patients with AMD and PCV was 70.62 6 10.15 (mean 6 SD) and 71.48 6 9.08 years, respectively, and that in the control group was 62.8 6 10.67 years. Aqueous humor cytokines growth-regulated oncogene (GRO), macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC), and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1a were significantly higher in AMD patients than controls (all P < 0.04), and GRO, MDC, MIP-1a, IL-8, IFN-c-inducible protein 10, and monocyte chemotactic protein levels were significantly higher in PCV patients than controls (all P < 0.03). Soluble CD40 ligand and platelet-derived growth factor-AA levels were higher in plasma of healthy controls compared with AMD subjects. No significant differences in cytokine levels were observed between AMD and PCV patients for both plasma and aqueous humor. CONCLUSIONS. In AMD and PCV patients, our data suggest that the pathologic changes are primarily driven by dysregulation of local immune factors in the eye, whereas the plasma cytokine levels are not elevated.

Comparison of cytokine levels in the aqueous humor of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and neovascular age-related macular degeneration patients

“…Among them, IL-31, LIF, SDF1-α, VEGF-A, VEGF-D levels were significantly higher in eyes with nAMD or PCV compared with control eyes, while HGF, IP-10, MCP-1, IL-13 were significantly lower in nAMD and PCV in contrast with controls. In present study, nAMD group showed no statistically significant difference with PCV group after adjusted age and gender, which was consistent with previous studies, although the IL-8 concentration was significantly higher in nAMD than in PCV [13][14][15]. Agrawal et al [14] investigated 41 different cytokines from 16 nAMD patients, 18 PCV patients and 50 ageand sex-matched cataract patients supported that there were no significant differences in cytokine levels observed between nAMD and PCV patients for aqueous humor, while MIP-1α were significantly higher in AMD patients than controls and MIP-1α, IL-8, IP-10 and MCP levels were significantly higher in PCV patients than controls.…”

“…In present study, nAMD group showed no statistically significant difference with PCV group after adjusted age and gender, which was consistent with previous studies, although the IL-8 concentration was significantly higher in nAMD than in PCV [13][14][15]. Agrawal et al [14] investigated 41 different cytokines from 16 nAMD patients, 18 PCV patients and 50 ageand sex-matched cataract patients supported that there were no significant differences in cytokine levels observed between nAMD and PCV patients for aqueous humor, while MIP-1α were significantly higher in AMD patients than controls and MIP-1α, IL-8, IP-10 and MCP levels were significantly higher in PCV patients than controls. Moreover, Sakurada et al [13] studied 14 cytokines, including VEGF, none of them were significantly different between eyes with nAMD and those with PCV, although they reported biomarkers of inflammation, elevated CRP and IP-10, and suggested chronic inflammation might be involved in the pathogenesis of nAMD or PCV.…”

<p>Cytokine and Chemokine Profile Changes in Patients After Intravitreal Conbercept Injection for Diabetic Macular Edema</p>

“…First, aqueous humour is currently the most commonly used intraocular specimen for the study of retinal diseases, but vitreous fluid, as an index of primarily posterior segment pathology, should be considered the ideal sample in such cases. 14,40,41 However, aqueous sampling is less invasive than vitreous fluid sampling. Therefore, aqueous humour is considered the most appropriate biological sample for examining the intraocular biomarkers of DME.…”

Characteristic Cytokine Profiles of Aqueous Humor in Glaucoma Secondary to Sturge-Weber Syndrome

“…MCP-1(CCL2), MIP-1α (CCL3), and MIP-1β (CCL4) act as typical chemoattractant that is involved in the inflammatory reaction by recruiting different immune cells to the injured area (41,42). Additionally, they were previously reported to be increased in many pathological conditions of ocular inflammation, including glaucoma (43) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) (44). Interestingly, in the present study, we found decreased MCP-1, MIP-1α, and MIP-1β concentrations in the eyes of SG patients when compared with the cataract eyes, indicating a conceivable 'atypical inflammation' in the aqueous humor during the disease progression.…”