Detection of Prolactin in Ocular Tissues and Fluids of Patients With Retinopathy of Prematurity

Abstract

Abstract: : Purpose: To investigate the presence of prolactin (PRL) in human eyes of patients with Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). Intraocular neovascularization leads to visual loss in retinal disorders including diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Members of PRL family may be involved in the regulation of ocular angiogenesis. Preliminar results of this study have been reported previously (IOVS 41, No. 4: 1766, 2000), we recruited more cases and compared them with controls. Methods: We investigated the presence of immunoactive PRL in ocular fluids from patients with ROP through an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Likewise, we measured PRL-like bioactivity by the Nb2 cell specific assay. Finally, the intraocular presence of PRL mRNA was investigated in the vitreous fibrovascular membranes of these patients by in situ hybridization. We compared the results with the control group with non-neovascular eye disease. Results: PRL was detected in the subretinal fluid (34.9 2.9 ng/ml; n = 48) of patients with ROP as well as in the aqueous humor at levels significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in patients with non-neovascular eye diseases (7.2 1.7 ng/ml; n = 37, vs 1.1 0.6 ng/ml; n = 17). In addition, significantly higher PRL levels were found in the serum of patients with ROP (61.9 7.7 ng/ml; n = 56) than in control patients (36.6 5.2 ng/ml; n = 18). PRL mRNA was detected in fibrovascular membranes within the vascular endothelium and infiltrating leucocytes of ROP patients. Conclusion: Higher concentration PRL levels are present in ocular fluids of patients with ROP and may originate from the newly formed blood vessels. This suggests a potential relation of the hormone to the pathophysiology of this disease.

Keywords: 554 retina • 566 retinal neovascularization • 572 retinopathy of prematurity