title: Elevated angiopoietin 2 in aqueous of patients with neovascular age related macular degeneration correlates with disease severity at presentation.
abstract: Angiopoietin 2 (ANG2) is a proangiogenic cytokine which may have an implication in neovascular age related macular degeneration (nAMD). In 24 eyes of 24 subjects presenting with treatment naïve nAMD and 26 eyes of 26 control patients, aqueous humor samples were collected at the time of intervention (intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor or cataract extraction). Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) with and central macular thickness (CMT) using optical coherence tomography (OCT) were measured before each injection in the nAMD group. Aqueous cytokine levels were determined by immunoassay using a multiplex array (Quansys Biosciences, Logan, UT). Levels of ANG2 in the aqueous were significantly higher in nAMD patients than those of the control group (p < 0.0001), so were hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP 1), all with p < 0.001. ANG2 correlated with worse BCVA (r = 0.44, p-value = 0.027) and greater CMT (r = 0.66, p-value < 0.0001) on optical coherence tomography (OCT). ANG2 is upregulated in patients with nAMD and correlates with severity of disease at presentation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Eye Hospital, 147K Argyle Street, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Danny S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Eye Hospital, 147K Argyle Street, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Yolanda W
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Yip
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Eye Hospital, 147K Argyle Street, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Malini
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bakthavatsalam
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Eye Hospital, 147K Argyle Street, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Li J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Eye Hospital, 147K Argyle Street, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Tse K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Eye Hospital, 147K Argyle Street, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Timothy Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Eye Hospital, 147K Argyle Street, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Calvin P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Eye Hospital, 147K Argyle Street, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Mårten E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Brelén
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D042702:Angiopoietin-2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D001082:Aqueous Humor / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000378:metabolism; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019715:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 / Q000378:metabolism; D014792:Visual Acuity
chemical_list: D042702:Angiopoietin-2; D015415:Biomarkers; D016209:Interleukin-8; C560822:TIMP1 protein, human; D019715:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor