Abstract
Purpose The present study investigated the profiles of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) of the aqueous humor (AH) and plasma (PL) in myopia patients, to determine whether there was an association between these levels with their axial length (AL) and to investigate if MMPs/TIMPs were regulated locally or systemically. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted. Thirty-nine patients (78 eyes) diagnosed with high myopia were recruited. The AL was measured using IOL Master. And the patients were divided into three groups based on their AL, Group A (AL ≤ 26 mm), Group B (26 < AL ≤ 28 mm), and Group C (AL > 28 mm). The AH in both eyes and blood samples were collected before the patients underwent implantable collamer lens surgery. In all, 78 samples of the AH and 39 samples of the PL were analyzed using MILLIPLEX map assays, followed by statistical analyses of the results. Results There were 8 patients (16 eyes) in Group A, 22 patients (44 eyes) in Group B, and 9 patients (18 eyes) in Group C. MMP-1 (p = 0.014, Β = 0.118), MMP-2 (p ≤ 0.001, Β = 0.278), MMP-9 (p ≤ 0.001, Β = 0.019), and TIMP-1 (p = 0.014, Β = 0.062) in the AH were positively associated with the AL. MMP-1 (p = 0.004, Β = 0.001) and TIMP-1 (p = 0.030, Β = 1.171) concentrations in the PL increased linearly with longer ALs. No concentration-dependent relationship was found between MMP-2 in the PL and AL. Conclusions There was a consistent relationship between MMP-2 in the AH and AL. AL was not consistently or substantially affected by MMP-2 in the PL, indicating myopia formation was possibly a localized process. Associations among MMP-1, MMP-9, and TIMP-1 in the AH and AL were also observed.
Highlights
The incidence of myopia has been increasing, in East Asia
We examined the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) profiles in the aqueous humor (AH) and plasma (PL) in patients with myopia but without other systemic diseases, established whether there was a concentration-dependent relationship between patients with different axial length (AL), and investigated whether there was a relationship between MMPs and TIMPs in the PL and AH
MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-9, and TIMP-1 in the AH were positively associated with the AL
Summary
The incidence of myopia has been increasing, in East Asia. According to a recent cross-sectional study, the prevalence of myopia in Shanghai University students has reached 92%, with 23% of these students diagnosed with high myopia [1]. High myopia is characterized by excessive axial length (AL) elongation and can result in vision-threatening complications, including retinal detachment from peripheral tears, myopic foveoschisis, and myopic choroidal neovascularization [2]. Several methods such as low concentrations of atropine, outdoor activities, and orthokeratology have been proposed to control myopia progression, their treatment efficacy differs by individual [3,4,5]. There is a reduction of scleral tissue during myopia development in the tree shrew [7], and a decrease in proteoglycan synthesis in primates [8]. Myopia development can be reduced by supplementing TIMP-2 exogenously [15]
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