Abstract
Purpose :
Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) develops in patients with severe uncontrolled diabetes. It is difficult to predict which diabetic patient will develop retinal neovascularization. Measuring the RNA expression of various genes may characterize the genetic pathways involved in retinas with a high risk of developing PDR. This data may aid in identifying therapeutic targets to prevent PDR and ocular morbidity.
The aim of this study was to assess mRNA expression of genes involved in the immunology pathway in the serum of PDR patients, as compared with healthy subjects and non proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) patients using a Nanostring technique.
Methods :
The study was approved by the institutional ethics review board and all patients gave informed consent. The study group consisted of patients diagnosed with PDR (n=13), NPDR (n=14) or controls (n=10). Total RNA was extracted from whole blood samples using the MagNA Pure Compact (Roche, LTD) and MagNA Pure Compact RNA Isolation Kit (Roche, LTD). mRNA expression levels were quantified and analyzed using Nanostring technology (Agentek ltd, Israel) for 9 PDR, 8 NPDR and 7 controls.
Results :
578 genes including IL-17, TNF, NF-kappa B of 15 different pathways were analyzed. Signaling pathways of inflammation and cancer PI3K - Akt pathway were included.
Of the 66 genes (11.5%) found statistically different (P < 0.05) between the PDR group and NPDR and control groups, the most prominent were TGFb1 and TGFb1R of the inflammatory pathway, IL23R, BAX, and CFB.
Conclusions :
Many efforts are invested in identifying risk factors for the development of PDR. The mRNA study may facilitate the diagnosis of the pathways involved. Surprisingly not only angiogenic but rather inflammation and proliferation pathways are involved. This may enable development of targeted inhibition.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.