Abstract
Purpose :
Polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) shows similarities as well as differences with exudative age related macular degeneration (exudative AMD). To understand the role of ocular and systemic immune factors in the disease pathogenesis, we have investigated the aqueous humor and plasma cytokine profiles in the patients with exudative AMD and PCV.
Methods :
This is a prospective case-control study approved by the Institutional review board of Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore and adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. Sixteen patients clinically diagnosed with exudative AMD, eighteen patients with PCV and fifty age and gender matched cataract patients without AMD/PCV (controls) were enrolled for the study. Study subjects were treatment naïve. 200 µL of undiluted aqueous humor and 5 mL of peripheral venous blood were collected aseptically from the study subjects with prior informed consent. Clinical samples were analysed for 41 different cytokines by Luminex bead based multiplex assay. Cytokines concentrations with detection rates of 50% or more were included in the analysis and the differences in aqueous humor and plasma cytokines levels among three groups were analysed.
Results :
The mean age of the patients with exudative AMD and PCV was 70.62±10.15 (mean±SD) years and 71.48±9.08 years respectively and that in the control group was 62.8±10.67 years. Male and female ratio was 10:6 and 12:6 in AMD and PCV patients respectively and 30:20 in control group. Detection rates were 50% or more for 23 cytokines in aqueous humor and 31 cytokines in plasma samples. Aqueous humor cytokines GRO, MDC and MIP-1a were significantly higher in exudative AMD patients than controls (p<0.04) and GRO, MDC, MIP-1a, MIP-1b, IL-8, IP-10 and MCP levels were significantly higher in PCV patients than controls (p<0.03). None of the plasma cytokines showed significant differences between cases and controls. No significant differences in cytokine levels were observed between exudative AMD and PCV patients.
Conclusions :
In exudative AMD and PCV patients, the pathological changes in the eye were associated with deregulation of local immune factors in the aqueous humor but not with their counterparts in the plasma.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.