Abstract
Purpose :
Glaucoma is characterized by progressive optic neuropathy and ensuing visual field losses. The purpose of this study was to discover the aqueous humor (AH) proteomic changes associated with visual field indices in glaucoma suspects and patients.
Methods :
Aqueous humor samples from 27 patients were analyzed using Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Visual field parameters including, Mean Deviation (MD), Pattern Standard Deviation (PSD), Visual Field Index (VFI) and Glaucoma Hemifield Test (GHT) were obtained from Electronic Medical Records. Correlation analyses were performed to discover the relationship between the aqueous humor protein levels and visual field measures. Bioinformatics analyses were conducted to identify the biological functions and pathways associated with these proteins.
Results :
We identified 1126 proteins in 27 AH samples and 44 proteins were significantly correlated with PSD. The top 5 proteins with significant positive correlation with PSD are: SERPINF2 (ρ=0.775), GC (ρ=0.770), AGT (ρ=0.744), SERPINA1 (ρ=0.734) and SERPINA3 (ρ=0.68). Eighteen proteins were correlated with MD, including SRC (ρ=0.635), IGHV-30 (ρ= -0.652), TAT (ρ= -0.624), GC (ρ= -0.622), and SNC73 (ρ= -0.611). Six proteins were positively associated with the global measure of visual function, VFI, including three isoforms of SERPINF1 (ρ= 0.598, 0.522, 0.509). Proteins negatively associated with VFI include, DGKH (ρ= -0.650), NT5C3B (ρ= -0.615), and SERPINA3 (ρ= -0.589). Logistic regression analysis revealed ten proteins elevated in patients with Glaucoma hemifield outside normal limits (ONL) as compared to those within normal limits (WNL), including SERPINA3 (OR= 112.73), Beta-2-microglobulin (OR= 60.32), CP (OR= 39.01), CFI (OR= 28.51) and RARRES2 (OR= 15.19).
Conclusions :
Proteins related to immune responses including, SERPINs and complement factors were identified to be associated with abnormal visual field parameters. These findings provide targets for future studies investigating precise molecular mechanisms and new therapies for Glaucomatous optic neuropathy.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.