Abstract
Purpose:
Elevated levels of cellular mediators, including cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors are frequently observed in vitreous humor of patients with uveitis. The study was conducted to investigate involvement of Th17-mediated immune responses in granulomatous uveitis associated with sarcoidosis by analyzing the cytokine levels in the vitreous.
Methods:
Levels of 15 cytokines, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-21, IL-22, IL-23, IL-25, IL-31, IL-33, soluble CD40L, IFN-γ, and TNFα were measured: by using multiplex bead analysis of vitreous humor of 11 eyes (8 patients) with sarcoidosis undergoing vitrectomy for a variety of vitreoretinal complications refractory for medical treatments between August 2012 and November 2013. These vitreous cytokine levels were compared with 9 eyes (9 patients) with epiretinal membrane and 7 eyes (7 patients) with macular hole (MH). Statistical differences were analyzed by ANOVA’s test.
Results:
IL-4, IL-6, IL-17A, IL-21, IL-22, IL-31, IFN-g, SCD40L, and TNFa were detected in the vitreous humor of eyes with sarcoidosis (, and , respectively), ERM (, and , respectively), and MH (, and , respectively), in which vitreous levels of IL-4, IL-6, IL-17A, IL-21, IL-25, IL-31, IFN-γ, and sCD40L were more in eyes with sarcoidosis than the other. However, vitreous levels significantly elevated in eyes with sarcoidosis was only IFN-γ.
Conclusions:
These results indicated that Th1-mediated immune responses were more critical than Th17 responses for development of uveitis in sarcoidosis patients. Alternatively, it is also possible that activation of Th17 cells was more susceptible than Th1 cells for medical treatment with corticosteroid to suppress ocular inflammation before surgery.