Drug Design, Development and Therapy (Dec 2019)
Cytokine and Chemokine Profile Changes in Patients After Intravitreal Conbercept Injection for Diabetic Macular Edema
Abstract
Qingquan Wei,1,* Zhongqi Wan,2,* Yongcheng Hu,3,* Qing Peng1 1Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai 200072, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 211166, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Ophthalmology, Bayannuer Paralympic Eye Hospital, Inner Mongolia 015000, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Qing PengDepartment of Ophthalmology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai 200072, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 13220811345Email [email protected]: This study aimed to investigate the concentrations of cytokines and chemokines in diabetic macular edema (DME) eyes before and during therapy with the intravitreal injection of conbercept (IVC) and to identify associations with disease activity.Methods: The Bio-Plex® 200 System and the Bio-PlexTM Human Cytokine Standard 27-Plex, Group I (Bio-Rad, Hercules, California, USA) were used to detect cytokine levels in aqueous humour. Experimental aqueous humour samples were collected from 18 patients with DME at the same time that IVC was performed at baseline and at 1 month. Control aqueous humour samples were collected from 16 patients undergoing cataract surgery.Results: Significantly higher concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-8, eotaxin, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were found in the aqueous humour of DME patients than cataract patients. One month after IVC, the intraocular concentrations of VEGF were significantly lower in the eyes of DME patients than at baseline. No other cytokines were significantly altered by conbercept therapy. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) slightly improved following IVC compared with that at baseline, although this difference was not significant, and central macular thickness (CMT) significantly decreased 1 month after IVC treatment.Conclusion: Angiogenic, inflammatory and growth factors are involved in the development of DME. With the exception of VEGF, IVC did not cause significant differences in any inflammatory cytokines or growth factors in DME patients. CMT is related to VEGF levels in aqueous humour.Keywords: diabetic macular oedema, conbercept, intravitreal implant, intraocular cytokines
