Increased expression of angiogenic and inflammatory proteins in the vitreous of patients with ischemic central retinal vein occlusion

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 10; no. 5; p. e0126859
• Main Authors: Ehlken, Christoph, Grundel, Bastian, Michels, Daniel, Junker, Bernd, Stahl, Andreas, Schlunck, Günther, Hansen, Lutz L, Feltgen, Nicolas, Martin, Gottfried, Agostini, Hansjürgen T, Pielen, Amelie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 15.05.2015; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Angiogenesis; Antibody microarrays; Arteriosclerosis; Atherosclerosis; Blood; Blood levels; Blood platelets; Chemokine CCL2 - metabolism; Chemokines; Complications and side effects; Diabetes; Diabetic retinopathy; Diagnosis; Edema; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Epithelium; Eye (anatomy); Female; Gelatinase B; Glaucoma; Gliosis; Growth factors; Health aspects; Humans; Hypertension; Hypoxia; Immunohistochemistry; Inflammation; Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 2 - metabolism; Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 1; Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 2; Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3; Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 4; Interleukin 6; Ischemia; Male; Matrix Metalloproteinase 10 - metabolism; Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1; Neutrophils; Occlusion; Osteoprotegerin; Osteoprotegerin - metabolism; Patients; Proteins; Retina; Retinal Vein Occlusion - immunology; Retinal Vein Occlusion - metabolism; Signaling; Stroke; Studies; Surgery; Therapeutic targets; Vascular diseases; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Veins & arteries; Vitreous Body - immunology; Vitreous Body - metabolism; United States
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126859

Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is a common disease characterized by a disrupted retinal blood supply and a high risk of subsequent vision loss due to retinal edema and neovascular disease. This study was designed to assess the concentrations of selected signaling proteins in the vitreous and blood of patients with ischemic CRVO. Vitreous and blood samples were collected from patients undergoing surgery for ischemic CRVO (radial optic neurotomy (RON), n = 13), epiretinal gliosis or macular hole (control group, n = 13). Concentrations of 40 different proteins were determined by an ELISA-type antibody microarray. Expression of proteins enriched in the vitreous (CCL2, IGFBP2, MMP10, HGF, TNFRSF11B (OPG)) was localized by immunohistochemistry in eyes of patients with severe ischemic CRVO followed by secondary glaucoma. Vitreal expression levels were higher in CRVO patients than in the control group (CRVO / control; p < 0.05) for ADIPOQ (13.6), ANGPT2 (20.5), CCL2 (MCP1) (3.2), HGF (4.7), IFNG (13.9), IGFBP1 (14.7), IGFBP2 (1.8), IGFBP3 (4.1), IGFBP4 (1.7), IL6 (10.8), LEP (3.4), MMP3 (4.3), MMP9 (3.6), MMP10 (5.4), PPBP (CXCL7 or NAP2) (11.8), TIMP4 (3.8), and VEGFA (85.3). In CRVO patients, vitreal levels of CCL2 (4.2), HGF (23.3), IGFBP2 (1.23), MMP10 (2.47), TNFRSF11B (2.96), and VEGFA (29.2) were higher than the blood levels (vitreous / blood, p < 0.05). Expression of CCL2, IGFBP2, MMP10, HGF, and TNFRSF11B was preferentially localized to the retina and the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Proteins related to hypoxia, angiogenesis, and inflammation were significantly elevated in the vitreous of CRVO patients. Moreover, some markers known to indicate atherosclerosis may be related to a basic vascular disease underlying RVO. This would imply that local therapeutic targeting might not be sufficient for a long term therapy in a systemic disease but hypothetically reduce local changes as an initial therapeutic approach.