Purpose
To evaluate the association of aqueous humor angiogenic and inflammatory cytokine levels with the development of retinal ischemia and recurrent macular edema in retinal vein occlusion (RVO) patients.
Methods
Retrospective cross-sectional study, patients with RVO (n=41) and age-matched control subjects (n=25) were included. The concentrations of angiogenic and inflammatory cytokines,including VEGF, PDGF-AA, IL-1a, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, TNF-α, and IP-10,in the aqueous humor were obtained before intravitreal injection of bevacizumab and measured using suspension array technology. After the retinal hemorrhage disappeared, fluorescein angiography(FA) images were obtained. Based on FA data, RVO patients were divided into a non-ischemic group and an ischemic group. We investigated the presence of recurrent macular edema based on optical coherent tomography (OCT) during the follow-up period. We compared the levels of cytokines of RVO patients and control subjects, and between the non-ischemic and ischemic groups and the presence of recurrent macular edema or not.
Results
The aqueous humor levels of VEGF, PDGF-AA, IL-1a, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, TNF-α, and IP-10 were higher in the RVO group than in the control group. The aqueous humor levels of IL-8, PDFGF-AA, TNF-α, and VEGF were significantly higher in the ischemic RVO group than in the non-ischemic RVO group. We did not observe any association between the cytokine levels and recurrent macular edema.
Conclusions
Angiogenic and inflammatory cytokines were overexpressed in RVO patients. Additionally, increased aqueous humor levels of IL-8, PDFGF-AA, TNF-α, and VEGF at the onset of RVO were associated with the development of future retinal ischemia in RVO patients.