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Innate immune responsive inflammation in development of progressive myopia

Eye (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Purpose

Inflammation has been implicated for development of myopia. It is not clear when inflammation is kicked in during the course of myopia, and what characteristics of the inflammation. In this study, we tested for cytokines from aqueous humour of eyes with wide spectrum of refractive status for profiling the inflammation.

Methods

Aqueous humour of 142 patient eyes were tested for soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and transforming growth factor-beta 2 (TGF-β2) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Eye globe axial length of these patients ranged from emmetropia to high myopia.

Results

Of 142 patients, an average axial length is 25.51 ± 3.31 mm, with a range of 21.56–34.37 mm. There are 36 cases in lower 25 percentile, 37 cases in upper 25 percentile, and 69 case in the middle 50 percentile. sICAM-1 and MCP-1 were significantly higher in the eyes with staphyloma (407.48 pg/mL, 312.31 pg/mL, n = 33) or macular schisis (445.86 pg/mL,345.33 pg/mL, n = 19) than that in the eyes without these changes (206.44 pg/mL, 244.76 pg/mL, n = 107). All three cytokines level was significantly associated with eye globe axial in a positive mode while adjusting for the age and sex. Strength of the association was the greatest for sICAM-1 and the weakest for TGF- β2. MCP-1 was in between.

Conclusion

sICAM-1 and MCP-1 in ocular fluid may be indicative biomarkers for progressive high myopia and the underneath autoimmune inflammation. sICAM-1 may be used as a monitoring biomarker for development of pathologic myopia.

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Fig. 1: Distribution of myopic fundus changes, eye globe staphyloma, and macular schisis of all study patients.
Fig. 2: The predicted cytokines values were scatter-plotted against eye globe axial lengths; the scatter plots and regression lines were identified by the symbols for each specific cytokine.

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Data availability

Data is available on reasonable request.

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Funding

Zhejiang Health Science and Technology Program, 2021PY074 (Jianshu Yuan). Ningbo Yinzhou District Agricultural Social Science and Technology project, 2021AS0056 (Jianshu Yuan).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Suqi Pan, Jianshu Yuan.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Affiliated Ningbo Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Ningbo, China

    Suqi Pan, Jianshu Yuan, Xiaotian Liu, Shanjun Wu, Yuwen Wang & Hongyan Yao

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Dongyang People’s Hospital, Dongyang, China

    Yuanhui Jin

  3. Jacob’s Retina Center at Shiley Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Lingyun Cheng

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  1. Suqi Pan
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Contributions

Suqi Pan and Jianshu Yuan organised patients enroling, treatment protocol monitoring and data collection; Yuanhui Jin conducted ELISA assays and drafts manuscript; Xiaotian Liu, research coordination and research materials acquisition; Shanjun Wu and Yuwen Wang performed surgeries and sampled aqueous. Hongyan Yao assisted review of fundus images and myopic fundus classification. Lingyun Cheng designed the study, performed data analysis and interpretation, and performed critical revision of the manuscript. All authors contributed to writing of the manuscript and approved the final version.

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Correspondence to Lingyun Cheng.

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Pan, S., Yuan, J., Jin, Y. et al. Innate immune responsive inflammation in development of progressive myopia. Eye (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-024-02947-z

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