Higher Aqueous Levels of Resistin and Lipocalin-2 Indicated Worse Visual Improvement following anti-VEGF Therapy in Patients with Retinal Vein Occlusion.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the aqueous humor levels of elastase-2, lactoferrin, lipocalin-2 (LCN-2), resistin, and thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) in patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO) and their relationship with visual prognosis following intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: 52 RVO patients (23 cases of central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and 29 cases of branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO)) and 20 cases of senile cataract were enrolled in this study. All RVO patients underwent fundus examinations before and 6-8 months after intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment. Five milliliters of blood were collected from RVO patients before treatment for the measurement of lipids and coagulation factors. Sixty microliters of aqueous humor were collected during intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF or during cataract surgery. The levels of elastase-2, lactoferrin, LCN-2, resistin, and TSP-1 in aqueous humor were determined by Luminex xMAP multiple analysis.

RESULTS: The aqueous levels of resistin and LCN-2 were significantly higher but the level of TSP-1 was significantly lower in RVO patients compared to controls. Further, sub-group analysis showed that CRVO patients had significantly higher levels of resistin and LCN-2 than controls. The aqueous levels of resistin and LCN-2 were negatively correlated with visual improvement following anti-VEGF therapy in CRVO but not in BRVO patients. Visual improvement in RVO patients was not associated with blood lipid levels or any of the coagulation factors.

CONCLUSION: CRVO patients had significantly higher aqueous levels of resistin and LCN-2, which negatively impacted on visual improvement after anti-VEGF therapy.