STEPWISE UPREGULATION OF BASIC FIBROBLAST GROWTH FACTOR AND MONOCYTE CHEMOATTRACTANT PROTEIN-4 FROM ACUTE TO CHRONIC RHEGMATOGENOUS RETINAL DETACHMENTS

Abstract

Purpose : To characterize the pathogenesis of inflammation in rhegmatogenous retinal detachments (RRD) based on duration, and to elucidate inflammatory mediators that may contribute to the development of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). We report the cytokine profile of patients with RRD ≤2 weeks (acute) and >2 weeks (chronic) and compare them against surgical controls in an observational, case-control study.

Methods : Vitreous humor specimens were collected from 40 patients undergoing pars plana vitrectomy for RRD and noninflammatory vitreoretinal diseases, which served as controls. Quantitative immunoassay was used to measure the levels of 36 cytokine markers on the collected vitreous specimens. We conducted linear regression analyses with duration of detachment symptoms as the predictor and log-transformed cytokine levels as the outcome. The analysis was adjusted for age, sex, and race.

Results : Twenty-seven patients had RRD and 13 were control subjects. We observe significantly elevated levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-4 (MCP-4) (p=0.0058) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) (p=0.0007) between patients with acute RRDs (n=16), chronic RRDs (n=11), and controls. Both cytokines were also significantly elevated (bFGF p=0.0029, MCP-4 p=0.0245) compared to controls when combining the acute and chronic groups. Additionally, IL-7 was found to be significantly elevated as RRD duration increased from acute to chronic (p=0.0041) but was not significant when the acute and chronic groups were combined compared to controls (p=0.3469).

Conclusions : MCP-4 and bFGF levels show significant stepwise upregulation as the duration of RRDs increases. While elevated levels of both cytokines have been previously reported, the impact of duration of detachment on its upregulation is unique. The novel increase in IL-7 only from acute to chronic indicates that it may play a role as a late inflammatory marker. Cumulatively, these findings aid in understanding the impact of inflammatory cytokines on RRD and development of complications related to prolonged duration of detachment, such as PVR. This may ultimately serve to identify potential therapeutic targets.

This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.