Tao Yan, Zhao Huanyu, Shimokawa Sakurako, Fukushima Masatoshi, Fujiwara Kohta, Hisai Takahiro, Yamamoto Kaho, Okita Ayako, Sonoda Koh-Hei, Murakami Yusuke
Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Department of Ophthalmology, Oita University, Oita, Japan.
Front Ophthalmol (Lausanne). 2025 Sep 5;5:1653404. doi: 10.3389/fopht.2025.1653404. eCollection 2025.
We aimed to investigate the local and systemic inflammatory profiles associated with cystoid macular edema (CME) in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
Paired aqueous humor and serum samples were collected at the time of cataract surgery from 37 eyes of 37 patients with typical RP, including 29 without CME and eight with CME. The concentrations of cytokines and chemokines were determined using a multiplexed immunoassay (Q-Plex). Group comparisons were conducted to assess differences in the inflammatory molecule levels between the RP patients with and without CME. Correlations among the intraocular parameters, the systemic inflammatory molecules, and the CME status were analyzed.
Compared to RP patients without CME, those with CME showed significantly increased aqueous levels of interleukin 23 (IL-23) ( = 0.002), I-309 ( = 0.039), and growth-related oncogene alpha (GROα) ( = 0.042). A multiple-factor analysis further supported a potential association between CME formation and an IL-23-related inflammatory network characterized by aqueous IL-23, IL-8, GROα, eotaxin, I-309, serum IL-23, and IFN-γ.
These findings suggest that both intraocular and systemic immune activation may play a role in the development of CME in patients with RP. Specifically, IL-23-driven inflammation may be associated with macular fluid accumulation. Further longitudinal studies in larger cohorts are necessary to elucidate these relationships and explore their clinical implications.
我们旨在研究视网膜色素变性（RP）患者中与黄斑囊样水肿（CME）相关的局部和全身炎症特征。
在白内障手术时，收集了37例典型RP患者的37只眼睛的配对房水和血清样本，其中29例无CME，8例有CME。使用多重免疫测定法（Q-Plex）测定细胞因子和趋化因子的浓度。进行组间比较以评估有和无CME的RP患者之间炎症分子水平的差异。分析了眼内参数、全身炎症分子和CME状态之间的相关性。
与无CME的RP患者相比，有CME的患者房水中白细胞介素23（IL-23）（P = 0.002）、I-309（P = 0.039）和生长相关癌基因α（GROα）（P = 0.042）的水平显著升高。多因素分析进一步支持CME形成与以房水IL-23、IL-8、GROα、嗜酸性粒细胞趋化因子、I-309、血清IL-23和干扰素-γ为特征的IL-23相关炎症网络之间存在潜在关联。
这些发现表明，眼内和全身免疫激活可能在RP患者CME的发生中起作用。具体而言，IL-23驱动的炎症可能与黄斑积液有关。有必要在更大的队列中进行进一步的纵向研究，以阐明这些关系并探索其临床意义。
