Department of Histology and Embryology, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland.
J Ocul Pharmacol Ther. 2011 Oct;27(5):471-5. doi: 10.1089/jop.2011.0091. Epub 2011 Aug 10.
Intravitreal ranibizumab, which neutralizes vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), nowadays constitutes the first-line treatment in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, its potential systemic effect on vascular homeostasis as the consequence of such therapy has not been extensively investigated.
Peripheral blood (PB) samples from 12 patients with newly diagnosed neovascular AMD were analyzed before as well as 1 and 4 weeks after intravitreal treatment with ranibizumab. VEGF plasma levels, the number of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), and the intracellular expression of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) in PB cells were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, flow cytometry, and real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assays, respectively.
No significant changes within the analyzed parameters were found in the first or fourth weeks after ranibizumab injection compared with the primary, basic values before treatment. Based on our findings, intravitreal ranibizumab does not induce significant systemic effects or vascular impairment.
Evaluation of the VEGF plasma level, the PB EPC concentration, and intracellular HIF expression may be supportive indicators of drug safety for ranibizumab.
玻璃体内注射雷珠单抗可中和血管内皮生长因子（VEGF），目前已成为治疗新生血管性年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）的一线治疗方法。然而，其治疗后对血管内稳态的潜在全身影响尚未得到广泛研究。
对 12 例新诊断为新生血管性 AMD 的患者，在玻璃体内注射雷珠单抗前、1 周和 4 周时分别采集外周血（PB）样本。通过酶联免疫吸附试验、流式细胞术和实时定量逆转录聚合酶链反应检测 PB 细胞中 VEGF 血浆水平、循环内皮祖细胞（EPC）数量和缺氧诱导因子（HIF）的细胞内表达。
与治疗前的基础值相比，雷珠单抗注射后第 1 周或第 4 周，分析的参数无显著变化。根据我们的研究结果，玻璃体内注射雷珠单抗不会引起明显的全身作用或血管损伤。
VEGF 血浆水平、PB EPC 浓度和细胞内 HIF 表达的评估可能是雷珠单抗药物安全性的支持性指标。
