Abstract
Purpose :
Angiogenesis is a process through which new blood vessels form from pre-existing ones. Its stimulation can be therapeutic in ischemic heart disease and wound healing. Its inhibition can be therapeutic in cancer and ophthalmic diseases. VEGF-A and B are important proangiogenic factors and key regulators of blood vessel growth. This study aims to evaluate the concentration levels of VEGF-A and B in serum and vitreous of patients with proliferative ocular disease (POD) vs a control group of patients with non-proliferative ocular disease (NPOD) and to determine whether a correlation exists between VEGF-A and B.
Methods :
Serum and vitreous samples were collected from 14 patients undergoing vitrectomy: the group with POD included diabetic retinopathy (DR) (n=8), retinal vein occlusion (RVO) (n=1) and age macular degeneration (AMD) (n=1), the NPOD group had vitreomacular traction syndrome (VMTS) (n=4). Quantification of VEGF-A and B in vitreous and serum was determined by ELISA in both groups. This study adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki, all patients gave their informed consent.
Results :
VEGF-A and B levels, in both vitreous and serum samples, were higher in DR vs RVO, AMD and VMTS. Comparison between POD vs NPOD: 1. Mean vitreous concentration ±standard deviation of VEGF-A and B in POD was 603.65±688.60 and 368.46±451.46 pg/ml, respectively vs non-detectable values in NPOD; 2. Mean serum ±standard deviation concentration of VEGF-A and B in POD was 101.28±60.68 and 53.72±42.39 pg/ml vs 81.82±64.97 (p=0.604) and 41.55±35.62 pg/ml (p=0.777) in NPOD. Correlations between VEGF-A and B: 1. In serum for all patients: statistical significant, positive and high (rsp=0.974) (ρ≤0.001); 2. In vitreous for POD patients: statistical significant, positive and high (rsp=0.995) (ρ≤0.001); 3. In serum for POD patients: rsp=0.995 (ρ≤0.01); In serum for NPOD patients: rsp=0.971 (ρ≤0.001).
Conclusions :
There were higher concentrations of VEGF-A and B, in POD patients in comparison with NPOD, mainly due to DR, which had the highest levels of VEGF. There was a strong and positive correlation between VEGF-A and B in all cases. High levels of VEGF-A indicate high levels of VEGF-B, which may provide a potential target for treatment of POD, however further studies are needed to provide information about systemic adverse events due to its inhibition.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.