Abstract
Purpose :
Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) play an important role in survival and functioning of retinal ganglion cells. Our previous research (Shpak et al., 2017) showed that age-related cataract does not influence the CNTF and BDNF levels in aqueous humor (AH). The aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation of the contents of CNTF and BDNF in AH of patients with age-related cataract and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).
Methods :
We have examined 114 persons (114 eyes) operated for age-related cataract. Mean age of patients was 71.3±7.6 years (range 53-88 years); there were 40 men and 74 women. Patients were divided into two groups: cataract group (59 patients without POAG, 59 eyes) and cataract with POAG group (55 patients, 55 eyes). AH was sampled during the phacoemulsification. The concentrations of neurotrophic factors were measured using “Human CNTF Quantikine ELISA” kit (R&D Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, MN) and “The BDNF Emax® ImmunoAssay System” kit (Promega Corporation, Madison, WI) on a ChemWell 2910 automatic analyzer (Awareness Technology, Inc., Palm City, FL).
Results :
The association between the CNTF and BDNF levels in AH was very weak: absolute values of Pearson’s correlation coefficient were less than 0.13 in both groups of patients (P>0.3). The association remained very weak in patients with combined early and moderate POAG or combined advanced and severe POAG (Glaucoma Staging System by Mills et al., 2006).
Conclusions :
CNTF and BDNF levels in AH do not influence each other in cataract patients with and without POAG. This suggests that these neurotrophic factors realize their neuroprotective effect through different, unrelated mechanisms.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.