Abstract
Purpose:
To investigate the composition and biological activity of serum from chronic renal failure (CRF) patients and to compare these with healthy controls.
Methods:
20%, 50%, and 100% autologous serum eyedrops (ASE) were prepared from blood samples of 16 patients with CRF and the 16 normal subjects. Epithelial growth factor (EGF), platelet-derived growth factor-AB (PDGF-AB), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and fibronectin levels in serum were quantified using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. We performed MTT assay to compare the proliferative effects of the serum from CRF patients and healthy donors in a SV 40 immortalized human corneal epithelial cell (HCEC) culture model. In an effort to evaluate the migratory potential of ASE, migration assays were conducted via the manual scraping of HCECs. The morphologic changes were also observed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
Results:
EGF, PDGF-AB and TGF-β1 levels in serum from healthy donors significantly higher than in serum of CRF patients. Cellular proliferation tended to be better in normal group compared to the patient group, but there was no statistical significance. Effects of ASE on cell migration in vitro were significantly more prominent in normal group. Compared with negative control, ASE in both groups enhanced proliferation and migration in vitro assay. It was better after incubation with diluted serum in comparison with undiluted serum. In TEM analysis, HCEC incubated with patients’ ASE showed loss of microvilli without alterations of cytoplasmic organelles.
Conclusions:
Concentrations of epitheliotrophic factors and their biologic activities of serum from CRF patients were differed from those of healthy controls.