Pigment epithelium-derived factor and vascular endothelial growth factor in branch retinal vein occlusion with macular edema

Abstract

VEGF and PEDF may inversely influence retinal vascular permeability in patients with ischemic BRVO and macular edema. However, prospective validation will be needed to confirm these observations.

Inflammatory Factors in Major and Macular Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion

“…The VEGF kit detected two of the four VEGF isoforms, which were VEGF 121 and VEGF 165 . PEDF was measured in vitreous fluid samples with a human PEDF Sandwich ELISA kit (Chemicon International, Temecula, Calif., USA) [19]. The levels of these three molecules in the vitreous fluid were within the detection ranges of the assays, with the minimum detectable concentration being 15.6 pg/ml for VEGF (intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) 5.3%, interassay CV 6.7%), 3.3 ng/ml for sICAM-1 (intra-assay CV 5.5%, interassay CV 7.6%), and 1.95 ng/ml for PEDF (intra-assay CV 5.6%; interassay CV 7.6%).…”

Association of Inflammatory Factors With Macular Edema in Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion

“…8,10,33 Similarly, levels of antiinflammatory PEDF were measured in vitreous samples with a human PEDF sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit (Chemicon International). 9 The VEGF kit was able to detect 2 of the 4 VEGF isoforms (VEGF 121 and VEGF 165 ), probably because these 2 shorter isoforms are secreted and the 2 longer isoforms are cell associated. Each assay was performed according to the manufacturer's instructions.…”

“…The ischemic region of the retina was measured with the public domain Scion Image program (Scion Corp), as reported previously. [8][9][10] On digital fundus pho- tographs, the disc area was outlined with a cursor and then measured, and the same was done for the nonperfused area. The severity of retinal ischemia was assessed as the nonperfused area divided by the disc area.…”

“…[5][6][7] The levels of VEGF, IL-6, soluble ICAM-1 (sICAM-1), soluble VEGFR-2 (sVEGFR-2), and PEDF in the vitreous fluid are independently related to vascular permeability in patients with BRVO and macular edema. [8][9][10] Blocking the actions of inflammatory factors has been shown 5 to prevent leukostasis and an increase in retinal vascular permeability in rats, and development of macular edema in patients with BRVO has been reported 7,11 to be accompanied by elevation of cytokines that regulate the inflammatory response. Thus, various inflammatory cytokines and other factors influence vascular permeability in the eye and are associated with macular edema in patients with BRVO.…”

Clinical Risk Factors Underlying the Occurrence of Retinal Vein Occlusion

“…Local inflammation within the eye has also been implicated in the pathogenesis of BRVO. In vivo assessment of the vitreous fluid in patients with BRVO has demonstrated elevated levels of proinflammatory mediators and lower levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines [33] . In particular, in a major study on inflammatory immune mediators in a group of vitreoretinal diseases, patients with RVO had elevated levels of interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, all of which are considered highly proinflammatory [34] .…”