April 2014
Volume 55, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   April 2014
Elevated photoreceptor COX-2 expression correlates with aging retinas
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Carlos Quezada
    Ophthalmology & Pathology, The Henry C. Witelson Ocular Pathology Laboratory, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
    California Retina Consultants, Santa Barbara, CA
  • Patrick Logan
    Ophthalmology & Pathology, The Henry C. Witelson Ocular Pathology Laboratory, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
  • Ana Beatriz Toledo Dias
    Ophthalmology & Pathology, The Henry C. Witelson Ocular Pathology Laboratory, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
  • Francisco Ceballos
    Ophthalmology & Pathology, The Henry C. Witelson Ocular Pathology Laboratory, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
  • Lisa Jagan
    Ophthalmology & Pathology, The Henry C. Witelson Ocular Pathology Laboratory, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
  • Tiago Briccoli
    Ophthalmology & Pathology, The Henry C. Witelson Ocular Pathology Laboratory, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
  • Miguel N Burnier
    Ophthalmology & Pathology, The Henry C. Witelson Ocular Pathology Laboratory, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships Carlos Quezada, None; Patrick Logan, None; Ana Beatriz Dias, None; Francisco Ceballos, None; Lisa Jagan, None; Tiago Briccoli, None; Miguel Burnier, None
  • Footnotes
    Support None
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science April 2014, Vol.55, 1852. doi:
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    • Get Citation

      Carlos Quezada, Patrick Logan, Ana Beatriz Toledo Dias, Francisco Ceballos, Lisa Jagan, Tiago Briccoli, Miguel N Burnier, The Henry C Witelson Ocular Pathology Laboratory; Elevated photoreceptor COX-2 expression correlates with aging retinas. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2014;55(13):1852.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Purpose: While COX-2 is often associated with inflammation and neoplasia, published reports have shown COX-2 to be expressed in normal tissue. Our aim was to evaluate expression of COX-2 in all layers of the normal human retina and determine whether correlations with age or gender exist

Methods: 130 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded normal human eyes were selected to investigate the expression of COX-2. Immunohistochemistry was performed using anti-human COX-2 antibody. Immunostaining was classified based on intensity (negative=0, weak=1, strong=2) and extent (negative=0, staining ≤50% of cells=1, staining >50% of cells=2). An immunoreactive score (IRS) was calculated to describe the expression of COX-2 using the following equation: 2 x expression x intensity. Results were expressed in the following manner: 0-2=negative, 3-4=weak, ≥5=strong. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to estimate the association between age and staining score of any layer. Linear regression analysis was used to determine possible correlations between IRS and time elapsed between death and enucleation or enucleation and tissue processing p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant

Results: Of the 130 eyes evaluated, 72 were from female donors, 53 from male donors, and 5 from donors with no gender information. Mean age was 62.1 years. A total of 78 cases had RPE and 66 had sufficient neurosensory retina for evaluation. The number of cases with positive COX-2 expression by retinal layer was: retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE): 61/78; nerve fiber layer: 33/66; ganglion cell layer: 58/66; inner plexiform layer: 55/66; inner nuclear layer: 36/66; outer plexiform layer: 56/66; outer nuclear layer: 31/66; photoreceptors: 55/66. COX-2 expression in the photoreceptors was significantly correlated with older donor age (p=0.045). COX-2 IRS was strong in the ganglion cell, photoreceptor and RPE layers. No significant correlations were found between IRS and time elapsed between death and enucleation or IRS and time elapsed between enucleation and tissue processing

Conclusions: COX-2 is expressed throughout the normal human retina with strong expression on ganglion cell, photoreceptor and RPE layers. Its expression in photoreceptors is significantly correlated with older age. These results demonstrate that consideration of a role for COX-2 in normal retinal physiology is warranted, particularly when anti-COX-2 medications are being prescribed

Keywords: 554 immunohistochemistry • 648 photoreceptors • 688 retina  
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