Abstract
Purpose: :
Clinical and laboratory studies indicate that thrombopoietin (TPO) gene expression increases during inflammation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the levels of thrombopoietin (TPO) in the aqueous humor in eyes with acute anterior uveitis (AAU).
Methods: :
A prospective, comparative control study. Aqueous humor was collected from 16 eyes of 16 patients with AAU. The level of TPO was determined with a commercially available enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay kit. The control group comprised 16 aqueous samples from 16 patients about to undergo cataract surgery and without any other ocular or systemic diseases.
Results: :
The concentration of TPO in aqueous humor was markedly higher in patients with UUA than in control subjects (Mann-Withney U test, P< 0.001). The level of TPO was 54.46 ± 16.24 (mean ± SD) pg/ml in eyes with UUA and 34.32 ± 11.63 pg/ml in the eyes of the control group.
Conclusions: :
The aqueous humor TPO level is increased in eyes with AAU. These results support the concept that TPO behaves like an acute-phase protein.
Keywords: inflammation • uveitis-clinical/animal model