Clinical Eye Research Unit, Department of Ophthalmology, Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde, Denmark.
Department of Ophthalmology, Skåne University Hospital Malmö-Lund, Lund, Sweden.
Sci Rep. 2017 Apr 4;7(1):605. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-00741-4.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative disease of the retina and a leading cause of irreversible vision loss. We investigated the systemic differences in the frequency of T helper (Th) 1 and Th17 cells in patients with non-exudative and exudative AMD and compared to age-matched controls. Flow cytometry was used to determine the systemic frequency of Th1 (CD4CXCR3IL12RB2) and Th17 (CD4CCR6IL23R) cells, and percentage of CD4 T-cells expressing CXCR3, IL12RB2, CCR6, IL23R, and co-expressing CXCR3 and CCR6. The frequency of Th1 cells and CXCR3 CD4 T-cells was lower in patients with exudative AMD. A significant age-dependent decrement in Th1 was observed in controls, but not in non-exudative or exudative AMD. This may be related to the CXCR3 CD4 T-cells, which showed similar pattern in controls, but not in non-exudative or exudative AMD. No significant group differences were observed for the frequency of Th17 cells. Correlation networks found several differences between controls and AMD. These data suggests the involvement of the adaptive immune system in AMD and supports the notion of AMD as a systemic disease. Our observations warrant further investigation into the role of the adaptive immune system in the pathogenesis of AMD.
年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）是一种视网膜退行性疾病，是不可逆视力丧失的主要原因。我们研究了非渗出性和渗出性 AMD 患者与年龄匹配的对照组之间辅助性 T 细胞（Th）1 和 Th17 细胞频率的系统差异。采用流式细胞术测定 Th1（CD4CXCR3IL12RB2）和 Th17（CD4CCR6IL23R）细胞的系统频率，以及表达 CXCR3、IL12RB2、CCR6、IL23R 和共表达 CXCR3 和 CCR6 的 CD4 T 细胞的百分比。渗出性 AMD 患者的 Th1 细胞和 CXCR3 CD4 T 细胞频率较低。在对照组中观察到 Th1 随年龄的依赖性下降，但在非渗出性或渗出性 AMD 中则没有。这可能与 CXCR3 CD4 T 细胞有关，在对照组中观察到类似的模式，但在非渗出性或渗出性 AMD 中则没有。Th17 细胞的频率无明显组间差异。相关网络发现了对照组和 AMD 之间的几个差异。这些数据表明适应性免疫系统参与了 AMD，并支持 AMD 作为一种系统性疾病的观点。我们的观察结果需要进一步研究适应性免疫系统在 AMD 发病机制中的作用。
