Abstract
Purpose :
Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) has been reported to be overexpressed in fibrotic tissue and to be increased in the vitreous of human eyes with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment as well as in the vitreous of rabbit eyes with proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). However, presence of angiopoietin-2 in PVR membranes has not yet been shown.
Methods :
Human PVR membranes were obtained during vitreoretinal surgery from 18 patient eyes with proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) between 2020 and 2023 at the Department of Ophthalmology of the University Hospital Bern, Switzerland. Patients with systemic or ocular comorbidities were excluded, such as patients with diabetes mellitus, known rheumatic and autoimmune diseases, systemic treatments involving corticosteroids or immunomodulatory drugs, vitreous hemorrhaging, uveitis, glaucoma, or any concomitant retinal pathology besides retinal detachment. In addition, we established a mouse (C57BL/6 mouse, mixed sex, 8-9 weeks old, n=6 per group) PVR model by injecting intravitreally ARPE-19 cells (ATCC, CRL-2302; 0.8 x104 cells) and observed formation of PVR membranes after 21 days. To show that angiopoietin-2 is involved in ocular fibrosis, immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining of mouse and human PVR membranes were performed. Additionally, hematoxylin and eosin histology as well as IHC for type1 collagen and alpha-smooth muscle actin (a-SMA) were conducted.
Results :
Different fibrotic markers, namely type 1 collagen and a-SMA were detected together with Ang-2 in mouse and human PVR membranes.
Conclusions :
The current results indicate that angiopoietin-2 is expressed in mouse and human PVR membranes and may play a role in its formation.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.