CRVO was associated with the regulation of endopeptidase activity, complement activation, innate immune response, blood coagulation, and cell adhesion (
Figs. 3A,
3B). Proteins involved in the innate immune response and complement activation included complement factors, immunoglobulin chains, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), monocyte differentiation antigen CD14 (CD14), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, retinoic acid receptor protein 2, and chromogranin-A (see
Fig. 3B). Similarly, STRING cluster analysis revealed regulation of a large cluster of interacting complement factors (
Fig. 4). A large group of proteins involved in blood coagulation, hemostasis, and fibrinolysis were upregulated in CRVO, including fibrinogen chains, prothrombin, coagulation factor 12, histidine-rich glycoprotein, plasminogen, coagulation factor V, coagulation factor XIII, alpha-2-macroglobulin, kininogen-1, plasma kallikrein, carboxypeptidase B2, antithrombin-III, heparin cofactor 2, and alpha-1-antitrypsin (see
Fig. 3B). STRING cluster analysis also identified a major cluster of proteins consisting of fibrinogen chains, prothrombin, coagulation factor V, histidine-rich glycoprotein, angiotensinogen, antithrombin-III, and heparin cofactor 2 (see
Fig. 4). Another major group of regulated proteins in CRVO were proteins involved in cell adhesion, including cell adhesion molecule 1, neuronal cell adhesion molecule, fibronectin, neural cell adhesion molecule, retinoschisin, neurotrimin, spondin-1, contactin-1, reelin, desmoglein-1, hyaluronan-binding protein, cadherin-2, zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein, neuronal growth regulator, calsyntenin-1, galectin-3 binding protein, desmocollin-1, and thrombospondin-4 (see
Fig. 3B).