ANGPTL-4 correlates with vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship between angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL-4) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the serum and vitreous of eyes in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).


METHODS
Thirty-five eyes of 35 patients with PDR, 20 eyes of 20 patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, 20 eyes of 20 patients with diabetes but no diabetic retinopathy, and 14 eyes of 14 nondiabetic patients with an idiopathic macular hole (IMH) were recruited from Shanghai First People's Hospital. The ANGPTL-4 and VEGF concentrations were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Group means were compared using one-way analysis of variance with GraphPad Prism 4.0 and SPSS ver. 17.0. The research followed the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.


RESULTS
The ANGPTL-4 and VEGF levels were significantly higher in the vitreous and serum of patients with PDR compared with patients with IMH. There were significant correlations between the ANGPTL-4 and VEGF levels in the vitreous and serum of patients with PDR. The vitreous and serum ANGPTL-4 levels were also significantly correlated in patients with PDR. The ANGPTL-4 in both the vitreous and serum correlated with the serum triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.


CONCLUSIONS
The ANGPTL-4 levels were markedly elevated and the ANGPTL-4 expression was directly correlated with the VEGF expression in the vitreous and serum of patients with PDR. The vitreous and serum ANGPTL-4 levels were also significantly correlated with serum lipids in patients with PDR. Our results suggest that the ANGPTL-4 may be used as a new therapeutic target for the treatment of PDR.
Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No. 100 Haining Road, Shanghai, 200080, China.
Qianyi
Q
Lu
Department of Ophthalmology, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Wuxi Second Hospital, No. 68 Zhongshan Road, Wuxi, 214002, China.
Wenjun
W
Zou
Department of Ophthalmology, Changshu No. 1 People's Hospital, Changshu, 215500, China.
Bin
B
Chen
Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No. 100 Haining Road, Shanghai, 200080, China.
Chen
C
Zou
Department of Ophthalmology, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai, 200080, China.
Minjie
M
Zhao
Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No. 100 Haining Road, Shanghai, 200080, China. zzheng88@sjtu.edu.cn.
Zhi
Z
Zheng
D000075803:Angiopoietin-Like Protein 4; D042682:Angiopoietins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism*; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000378:metabolism*
C474772:ANGPTL4 protein, human; D000075803:Angiopoietin-Like Protein 4; D042682:Angiopoietins; D015415:Biomarkers; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A
Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL-4); Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR); Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)