Abstract
Purpose :
Agonistic β2-adrenergic receptor autoantibodies (β2-AAb) have been detected in serum samples of patients with ocular hypertension (OHT), primary (POAG) and secondary open-angle glaucoma (SOAG), not in healthy controls [1, 2]. It was the aim of the study to investigate the presence of β2-AAb in aqueous humor samples of glaucoma patients in correlation to their β2-AAb serum levels.
1. Jünemann A et al. (2018) Agonistic Autoantibodies to the beta2-Adrenergic Receptor Involved in the Pathogenesis of Open-Angle Glaucoma.
2. Hohberger B et al. (2019) Autoantibodies Activating the beta2-Adrenergic Receptor Characterize Patients With Primary and Secondary Glaucoma.
Methods :
41 patients (22 male, 19 female) were recruited from the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg: 22 POAG, 19 SOAG. Aqueous humor (AH) samples were collected during cataract surgery and analyzed for β2-AAb using a cardiomyocyte bioassay. Cut-off was 2 beats / 15 sec. Serum samples of each patient were screened for the presence of β2-AAb by the same method. The study was approved by the local ethics committee and was done in accordance with the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was obtained from each participant.
Results :
(I) 38 of 41 (92.7%) and 34 of 41 (83.0%) of the patients with OAG showed a β2-AAb in their sera and AH samples, respectively. All patients with β2-AAb in their AH were also seropositive. (II) Subgroup analysis yielded a β2-AAb seropositivity in 95% POAG and 89% SOAG patients. β2-AAb AH-positivity was to be observed in 86% (POAG) and 79% (SOAG). No statistically significant differences were observed for β2-AAb sero- and β2-AAb AH-positivity between glaucoma subgroups (p>0.05). (III) β2-AAb serum levels were not significantly different between POAG (4.7±1.6) and SOAG patients (5.3±1.4; p>0.05). (IV) β2-AAb AH levels were significantly increased in POAG (6.5±1.5) compared to SOAG patients (4.1±1.1; p=0.004). (V) No correlation of β2-AAb AH levels with β2-AAb serum levels was seen for group and subgroup analysis (p>0.05).
Conclusions :
The presence of β2-AAb in systemic and local circulation supports the hypothesis of a direct functional impact of these AAb on ocular GPCRs. The high prevalence of β2-AAb in serum and AH of patients with POAG and SOAG argue for a common role in glaucoma pathogenesis, independent of subtype.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.