title: Aqueous concentrations of VEGF and soluble VEGF receptor-1 in diabetic retinopathy patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to simultaneously measure the concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and soluble VEGF receptor-1 (sVEGFR-1, also known as sFlt-1) in the aqueous humor of patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and to investigate whether aqueous levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGFR-1 are related to diabetic macular edema.
  
  
  METHODS
  Aqueous humor was collected from 27 diabetic patients and 33 age- and sex-matched normoglycemic controls and analyzed for pro-angiogenic VEGF and angiogenic inhibitor VEGFR-1 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The mean foveal thickness was measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no significant difference in the aqueous levels of VEGF in patients with NPDR compared with control subjects (P > 0.05), while the NPDR patients had significantly lower sVEGFR-1 in their aqueous humor. Furthermore, a significant (P < 0.01) positive correlation was observed between VEGF/sVEGFR-1 concentration and the mean foveal thickness measured on OCT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that decreased chelating effect of sVEGFR-1 may be the preliminary event allowing VEGF to activate the proangiogenic endothelial cell state and to induce permeability. The imbalance between angiogenic agent (VEGF) and the antiangiogenic factors (sFlt-1), which is disturbed in the diabetic state, may determine the fate of diabetic macular edema.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Physiology Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Shaghayegh Haghjooy
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Javanmard
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hasanpour
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Abbaspoor
authors.forename: Gholam A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Naderian
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jahanmard
keywords: Diabetic macular edema; diabetic retinopathy; neovascularization; soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1; vascular endothelial growth factor