OBJECTIVE To correlate inflammatory cytokines and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in vitreous and plasma with vitreous retinol binding protein 3 (RBP3), diabetic retinopathy (DR) severity, and DR worsening in a population with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS RBP3, VEGF, and inflammatory cytokines were measured in plasma and vitreous samples (n = 205) from subjects of the Joslin Medalist Study and Beetham Eye Institute. RESULTS Higher vitreous RBP3 concentrations were associated with less severe DR (P < 0.0001) and a reduced risk of developing proliferative DR (PDR) (P < 0.0001). Higher RBP3 correlated with increased photoreceptor segment thickness and lower vitreous interleukin-12 (IL-12), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and TNF-β (P < 0.05). PDR was associated with lower vitreous interferon-γ and IL-10 and higher VEGF, IL-6, and IL-15 (P < 0.05), but was not associated with their plasma concentrations. CONCLUSIONS Higher vitreous RBP3 concentrations are associated with less severe DR and slower rates of progression to PDR, supporting its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic agent for preventing DR worsening, possibly by lowering retinal VEGF and inflammatory cytokines.

中文翻译：

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视黄醇结合蛋白 3 浓度升高与玻璃体炎症细胞因子、VEGF 的减少和糖尿病视网膜病变的进展相关

目的 将 1 型和 2 型糖尿病患者玻璃体和血浆中的炎性细胞因子和血管内皮生长因子 (VEGF) 与玻璃体视黄醇结合蛋白 3 (RBP3)、糖尿病视网膜病变 (DR) 严重程度以及 DR 恶化相关联。研究设计和方法 对 Joslin Medalist 研究和 Beetham 眼科研究所受试者的血浆和玻璃体样本 (n = 205) 中的 RBP3、VEGF 和炎症细胞因子进行了测量。结果 较高的玻璃体 RBP3 浓度与较轻的 DR (P < 0.0001) 和较低的发生增殖性 DR (PDR) 的风险相关 (P < 0.0001)。较高的 RBP3 与增加的光感受器节段厚度以及较低的玻璃体白介素-12 (IL-12)、肿瘤坏死因子-α (TNF-α) 和 TNF-β 相关 (P < 0.05)。PDR与较低的玻璃体干扰素-γ和IL-10以及较高的VEGF、IL-6和IL-15相关(P＜0.05)，但与其血浆浓度无关。结论 较高的玻璃体 RBP3 浓度与较轻的 DR 和较慢的 PDR 进展速度相关，支持其作为预防 DR 恶化的生物标志物和治疗剂的潜力，可能是通过降低视网膜 VEGF 和炎症细胞因子来实现的。