Department of Ophthalmology, General Hospital Dubrovnik, Roka Mišetića bb, 20 000 Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2012 Jun;250(6):815-21. doi: 10.1007/s00417-011-1905-4. Epub 2012 Jan 8.
Previous studies suggest that inflammation plays an important part in the pathogenesis of diabetes. Cytokines may have a role in both positive and negative control of immunological reactions. Among many cytokines, interleukin 12 (IL-12) is known to be a strong pro-inflammatory cytokine.
A total of 76 participants were enrolled in this study and classified into four groups: 23 diabetic patients with non-treated retinopathy, 17 diabetic patients with treated retinopathy, 12 diabetic patients without retinopathy, and 24 healthy control patients. Serum and aqueous humor samples were taken for the analysis of IL-12 concentration.
The aqueous humor IL-12 concentration was significantly elevated in the patients with non-treated diabetic retinopathy (χ(2)(3, n = 76) = 27.137; p < 0.001). No significant differences in IL-12 serum concentrations between the groups were found (F = 0.405, p = 0.750). Correlation analysis of IL-12 concentrations in the serum and aqueous humor showed a linear association between the two variables only in non-diabetic patients (p = 0.003).
This is the first study to show a significantly higher concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-12 in the aqueous humor of non-treated diabetic retinopathy patients in comparison with diabetic patients treated for retinopathy, without retinopathy, or with healthy individuals. Because the serum levels of IL-12 did not differ considerably between the studied groups, it is plausible that this is due to its local production and secretion.
先前的研究表明，炎症在糖尿病的发病机制中起着重要作用。细胞因子可能在免疫反应的正、负调控中发挥作用。在众多细胞因子中，白细胞介素 12（IL-12）被认为是一种强有力的促炎细胞因子。
本研究共纳入 76 名参与者，分为四组：23 名未经治疗的糖尿病性视网膜病变患者、17 名经治疗的糖尿病性视网膜病变患者、12 名无糖尿病性视网膜病变患者和 24 名健康对照患者。采集血清和房水样本，分析 IL-12 浓度。
未经治疗的糖尿病性视网膜病变患者房水中的 IL-12 浓度显著升高（χ²(3, n=76)=27.137;p<0.001）。各组间血清 IL-12 浓度无显著差异（F=0.405,p=0.750）。血清和房水中 IL-12 浓度的相关分析仅在非糖尿病患者中显示两者之间存在线性关联（p=0.003）。
这是第一项研究，表明未经治疗的糖尿病性视网膜病变患者房水中促炎细胞因子 IL-12 的浓度明显高于接受治疗的糖尿病性视网膜病变患者、无糖尿病性视网膜病变患者或健康个体。由于研究组之间的血清 IL-12 水平没有明显差异，因此可以合理地认为这是由于其局部产生和分泌所致。
