Abstract
Purpose :
Agonistic β2-adrenergic receptor autoantibodies (β2-AAb) have been previously detected in patients with ocular hypertension (OHT), pre-perimetric (pre-POAG) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), not in healthy controls.[1] It was the aim of this study to investigate the presence of β2-AAb positivity in patients with early normal tension glaucoma (pre-NTG), manifest NTG and secondary OAG (SOAG) in correlation to POAG and OHT patients.
1. Junemann A, Hohberger B, Rech J, Sheriff A, Fu Q, Schlotzer-Schrehardt U, Voll RE, Bartel S, Kalbacher H, Hoebeke J, Rejdak R, Horn F, Wallukat G, Kunze R, Herrmann M (2018) Agonistic Autoantibodies to the beta2-Adrenergic Receptor Involved in the Pathogenesis of Open-Angle Glaucoma. Frontiers in immunology 9: 145 DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2018.00145
Methods :
106 patients (74 male, 32 female), recruited from the Erlangen Glaucoma Registry (ISSN 2191-5008, CS-2011; NTC00494923), were included in the study: 4 pre-NTG, 16 NTG, 11 SOAG (6 pigment dispersion glaucoma, PDG and 5 pseudoexfoliation glaucoma, PEXG), 33 OHT, 11 pre-POAG, and 31 POAG. Serum samples were analyzed for the presence of β2-AAb using a cardiomyocyte bioassay. The study was approved by the local ethics committee.
Results :
(I) Eighty-one of all patients showed β2-AAb (76.4%). (II) Subdivision into glaucoma type yielded a β2-AAb positivity in 100% pre-NTG, 56.3% NTG, 83.3% PDG, and 100% PEXG. β2-AAb were observed in 69.7% OHT, 81.8% pre-POAG, and 83.9% POAG. No statistically significant difference was seen between glaucoma subgroups (p>0.05). (III) No significant differences in β2-AAb levels (p>0.05) were observed between pre-NTG (7.08±0.7), NTG (5.27±0.7), PDG (5.07±0.3), and PEXG (5.22±0.4). (IV) Additionally, no difference of β2-AAb levels were seen between pre-NTG, NTG, SOAG and OHT (5.18±0.4), pre-POAG (5.46±0.4), and POAG (4.88±0.2, p>0.05).
Conclusions :
The high percentage of β2-AAb activity in sera of NTG and SOAG patients might argue for a potential role of these AAb in glaucoma pathogenesis, regardless underlying ocular risk factors. As mean β2-AAb levels of these patients were similar to OHT, pre-POAG and POAG, β2-AAb might have a trigger role in the final pathogenic pathway common to all glaucoma types.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.