Kliffen M, Sharma H S, Mooy C M, Kerkvliet S, de Jong P T
Institute of Ophthalmology, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Br J Ophthalmol. 1997 Feb;81(2):154-62. doi: 10.1136/bjo.81.2.154.
AIMS/BACKGROUND: The late stages of age-related maculopathy (ARM), especially neovascular macular degeneration (ARMD), can severely affect central vision and are the main cause of blindness in the elderly in the Western world. It has been shown that angiogenic growth factors are present in neovascular membranes in ARMD. However, it is not known if angiogenic growth factors play a role in the onset of neovascularisation.
In order to elucidate the involvement of angiogenic growth factors in the initiation of neovascularisation in early stages of ARM, the expression patterns of VEGF, TGF-beta, b-FGF, and PDGF-AA on 18 human maculae with ARM, and on 11 control specimens were investigated immunohistochemically.
A significantly increased expression of VEGF (p = 0.00001) and TGF-beta (p = 0.019) was found in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of maculae with ARM compared with control maculae. Furthermore, an increased expression of VEGF and PDGF was found in the outer nuclear layer of maculae with ARM.
These results demonstrate an increased expression of VEGF in the RPE, and in the outer nuclear layer in maculae with ARM, that could be involved in the pathogenesis of neovascular macular degeneration. Furthermore, enhanced TGF-beta expression in the RPE cells of maculae with early stages of ARM was shown.
目的/背景：年龄相关性黄斑病变（ARM）的晚期，尤其是新生血管性黄斑变性（ARMD），可严重影响中心视力，是西方世界老年人失明的主要原因。研究表明，血管生成生长因子存在于ARMD的新生血管膜中。然而，尚不清楚血管生成生长因子是否在新生血管形成的起始过程中发挥作用。
为了阐明血管生成生长因子在ARM早期新生血管形成起始过程中的作用，采用免疫组织化学方法研究了18例ARM患者黄斑和11例对照标本中VEGF、TGF-β、b-FGF和PDGF-AA的表达模式。
与对照黄斑相比，ARM黄斑的视网膜色素上皮（RPE）中VEGF（p = 0.00001）和TGF-β（p = 0.019）的表达显著增加。此外，在ARM黄斑的外核层中发现VEGF和PDGF的表达增加。
这些结果表明，ARM黄斑的RPE和外核层中VEGF表达增加，这可能与新生血管性黄斑变性的发病机制有关。此外，还显示了ARM早期黄斑的RPE细胞中TGF-β表达增强。
