title: Intraocular and serum cytokine profiles in patients with intermediate uveitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the intraocular and serum cytokine and chemokine profile in patients with intermediate uveitis (IU) at various stages of inflammatory activity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Institutional, prospective association study. Paired aqueous humor (AqH) and serum samples were collected from 36 consecutive IU patients and 10 controls. The concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, CC--chemokine ligand 5/regulated upon activation normal T-cell expressed, and secreted (CCL5/RANTES), CC--chemokine ligand 3/macrophage inflammatory protein 1alpha (CCL3/MIP-1α), CCL4/MIP-1β, and CC--chemokine ligand 2/monocyte chemotactic protein--1 (CCL2/MCP-1) were measured in both AqH and serum by multiplex immunoassay. Main outcome measures were serum and intraocular levels of the analyzed cyto- and chemokines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with IU had higher serum levels of TNF-α than non-uveitic controls (p<0.0001), whereas their AqH TNF-α levels did not show a difference (p=0.323). IU patients had higher intraocular levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70 and CCL2/MCP-1 than the controls (p=0.020, 0.001, <0.0001, 0.005, 0.003, and 0.003, respectively). Active stages of IU were characterized by higher levels of IL-6, IL-8, CCL5/RANTES and CCL2/MCP-1 (p=0.003, <0.0001, 0.033, and 0.033, respectively). Higher levels of IL-6 and IL-8 were found in IU patients with cystoid macular edema (CME) compared to non-CME IU patients (p=0.026 and 0.012, respectively). Significant positive correlations between various observed mediators were present in the AqH of IU patients only.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Significantly elevated concentrations of multiple intraocular cytokines were found in IU patients, especially IL-6 and IL-8 in those with CME and active disease. In serum elevated TNF-α levels were observed in IU patients. Our findings improve the understanding of the pathogenesis of IU and contribute to the identification of factors which may contribute to the activity of IU.
authors.affiliation: Eye Hospital, University Medical Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia. vid.val@t-2.net
authors.forename: Natasa Vidovic
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Valentincic
authors.forename: Jolanda D F
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: de Groot-Mijnes
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kraut
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Korosec
authors.forename: Marko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hawlina
authors.forename: Aniki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rothova
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001082:Aqueous Humor / Q000737:chemistry*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017524:Slovenia; D015867:Uveitis, Intermediate / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines