title: A novel biomarker for retinal degeneration: vitreous body neurofilament proteins.
abstract: Retinal degeneration leads to release of cell-type specific proteins into the adjacent compartment. Here we investigated whether the neurofilament heavy chain protein (NfH) could be measured from the vitreous body and anterior chamber fluid. This prospective study included 85 patients who underwent vitrectomy (44 retinal detachment, 12 macular hole, 15 epiretinal gliosis, 8 organ donors) or trabelectomy (six glaucoma). The cut-off level was calculated from the organ donors. An established enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA, SMI35) was used for quantification of NfH (190-210 kDa). Measurable levels of NfH were detected from the vitreous body homogenate, but not from the anterior chamber fluid. The cut-off level was 0.29 ng/mL. A significant proportion of patients suffering from retinal detachment (43.2%, mean 0.74 ng/mL) had vitreous body NfH levels above cut-off when compared to organ donors (0%, 0.12 ng/mL, p = 0.02), epiretinal sclerosis (1.6%, 0.05 ng/mL, p = 0.01), macular hole (0%, 0.04 ng/mL, p = 0.004). Following retinal detachment, vitreous NfH-SMI35 levels correlated with time from onset (R = -0.3, p < 0.05), persisting for up to 2 years. This study shows that NfH can be quantified from the human vitreous body and may be a useful novel biomarker for retinal degeneration. The method can be applied for investigating the dynamics of retinal degeneration and the response to neuroprotective strategies in a broad range of retinal diseases in either clinical or experimental research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroimmunology, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK. a.petzold@ion.ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petzold
authors.forename: Anselm
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Junemann
authors.forename: Konrad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rejdak
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zarnowski
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thaler
authors.forename: Pawel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grieb
authors.forename: Friedrich E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Kruse
authors.forename: Eberhart
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zrenner
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rejdak
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000867:Anterior Chamber / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery; D005911:Gliosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D012167:Retinal Perforations / Q000378:metabolism / Q000601:surgery; D013997:Time Factors; D014130:Trabeculectomy; D014821:Vitrectomy; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins