Cytokine analysis of aqueous humor in AIDS patients

Abstract

Objective: To explore the Cytokine of aqueous humor in AIDS patients with different eye diseases. Methods: A case-control study including 38 patients who was diagnosed as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome(AIDS) at Infectious Center and Department of Ophthalmology in Beijing You'an Hospital, Capital Medical University. And 16 cases of 38 patients were cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMVR), 14 cases were HIV-related retinal disease, and 8 cases presented as normal. A series of tests were performed including vision acuity check, intraocular pressure, fundus photography, blood cell count of CD4+ T lymphocyte and the content of cytokines in aqueous humor by Luminex 200(TM) liquid chip analyzer. Intraocular pressure was analyzed by one-way ANOVA, visual acuity, CD4(+) T lymphocyte count and cytokines were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test, the differences between the two groups were compared by Mann-Whitney U test corrected with Bonferroni. Results: Of the 38 AIDS patients [mean age (33.7±10.0) year], 37 were males and 1 was female. The mean visual acuity of 38 patients is logMAR 1.00(0.000, 1.000). The difference of visual acuity among three groups was statistically significant (χ(2)=9.963, P=0.007). The visual acuity in CMVR group was significantly higher than that in HIV-related retinal disease group and AIDS-normal eye group. There was no statistically significant difference of intraocular pressure among three groups (F=0.830, P<0.05). The mean CD4+ T lymphocyte count was 58(4, 550)/μl and the difference was statistically significant among three groups(χ(2)=6.106, P=0.047). The CD4+ T lymphocyte count in AIDS-normal eye group was significantly higher than that in CMVR group and HIV-related retinal disease group. There was no statistically significant difference in CD4+ T lymphocyte count between HIV-related retinal disease group and CMVR group. The following cytokines in CMVR group were significantly higher than the other two groups with statistically significant differences: MIP-1b, IL-6, TNF-α, VEGF, IL-8, MCP-1, IP-10. Conclusions: In patients who was diagnosed as AIDS, cytomegalovirus retinitis would damage vision acuity seriously. The elevated cytokines' level in aqueous humor such as MIP-1b, IL-6, TNF-α, VEGF, IL-8, MCP-1, IP-10, compared with HIV-related retinal disease and AIDS-normal eye cases, may be related to the activity of Th1 cell and monocyte-macrophages system including chemokines, inflammatory factors, and vascular endothelial factors. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2017, 53: 746-752).