Abstract
Objectives Idiopathic epiretinal membrane (iERM) or idiopathic macular hole (iMH) is frequently used as a “healthy” control in comparison of vitreous cytokines with other vitreoretinal diseases. This study aimed to investigate if there is a difference in vitreal cytokines expression between patients with iERM and iMH. Methods In this prospective study, all subjects received standard pars plana vitrectomy surgery, and 0.5 ml of native vitreous sample was extracted during the vitrectomy. Luminex technology and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to profile the concentration of 52 classic angiogenic, inflammatory, and profibrotic cytokines and chemokines. Statistical analyses were performed by the Mann–Whitney U test, followed by multiple comparisons by the Bonferroni correction. Results Vitreal samples from 13 iERM and 24 iMH were studied. Of the 52 tested cytokines, 41 were similar in expression, and 5 were under the detection limit, while 6 cytokines (MMP-8, Eotaxin, MIP-1a, RANTES, TGF-β2, and IL-4) were differently expressed between two groups (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, these significances disappeared after the adjustment of Bonferroni correction. Conclusion The tested cytokines showed similar expression between iERM and iMH patients. This indicates that eyes with iERM or iMH can be together served as “healthy” controls.
Highlights
Human vitreous, a complex and transparent extracellular matrix, is composed of approximately 98% water and 2% solid material, including collagen fibrils, hyaluronic acid molecules, and a small amount of proteins and cytokines [1, 2]
Cytokines are important cell-signaling mediators and participate in many conditions [3]. e abnormal expression of vitreal cytokines is acknowledged to be associated with the pathogenesis process, including immunological regulations, inflammation, fibrous hyperplasia, neovascularization, repair processes, and growth mechanisms [4]
To quantify the cytokines in diseased vitreous, most previous studies employed idiopathic epiretinal membrane or idiopathic macular hole as negative or “healthy” controls because the two diseases are typically localized in the macular zone [5, 7, 8]
Summary
A complex and transparent extracellular matrix, is composed of approximately 98% water and 2% solid material, including collagen fibrils, hyaluronic acid molecules, and a small amount of proteins and cytokines [1, 2]. Cytokines are important cell-signaling mediators and participate in many conditions [3]. E abnormal expression of vitreal cytokines is acknowledged to be associated with the pathogenesis process, including immunological regulations, inflammation, fibrous hyperplasia, neovascularization, repair processes, and growth mechanisms [4]. A number of cytokines in vitreous, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), interleukin-1β, and so on, are involved in different vitreoretinal diseases [5,6,7]. Retinal pigment epithelial cells, and hyalocytes altogether consist of the fibrocellular tissue [9, 10]
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