Abstract
Purpose: :
To investigate impact of phacoemulsification on cytokine and growth factor levels in aqueous humor of cataract patients.
Methods: :
The patients with cataract who were treated with phacoemulsification were recruited in this study. Patients who had ocular diseases other than cataract, the history of ocular surgeries or intraocular pressure of more than 21 mm Hg were excluded from the study. Preoperative aqueous humor was collected at the beginning of phacoemulsification surgery before any incisional procedures. Then, the second collection of aqueous humor was conducted between 1 and 2 years after phacoemulsification. The concentrations of interleukin (IL)-8, monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-AA in these aqueous humor samples were determined with a multiplex immunoassay.
Results: :
Twenty-one eyes of 21 patients (mean age, 77.5 ± 7.4 years) satisfied the criteria. The mean (± standard deviation, SD) preoperative concentrations of MCP-1, TNF-α, IL-8, VEGF and PDGF-AA were 796.9 ± 211.3, 0.9 ± 0.3, 3.8 ± 1.1, 86.7 ± 38.7, 34.0 ± 19.3 pg/ml, respectively. The postoperative concentrations of MCP-1 and IL-8 in all the 21 patients were higher than the preoperative concentrations, exhibiting the statistical significance (1773.5 ± 321.2 pg/ml of postoperative MCP-1, P <0.0001; 11.6 ± 5.6 pg/ml of postoperative IL-8, P <0.0001). In addition, there were significantly higher concentrations of TNF-α levels (1.2 ± 0.1 pg/ml, P = 0.002) in postoperative aqueous humor, but no significant changes in postoperative VEGF (95.0 ± 40.3 pg/ml, P = 0.240) or PDGF-AA (38.9 ± 10.1 pg/ml, P = 0.152) concentrations.
Conclusions: :
The concentrations of MCP-1, IL-8 and TNF-α are increased in aqueous humor of pseudophakic eyes that underwent phacoemulsification before more than 1 year. Our previous study has reported that open-angle glaucoma eyes that had undergone phacoemulsification frequently result in the surgical failure of trabeculectomy (Arch Ophthalmol 2011). Our present result suggests that these unregulated molecules in aqueous humor might be involved to the surgical failure of trabeculectomy for pseudophakic glaucomatous eyes.
Clinical Trial: :
UMIN-CTR, UMIN000005788
Keywords: aqueous • cytokines/chemokines • clinical research methodology