Abstract:

Objective To determine serum cytokine profiles and levels in patients with early diabetic retinopathy (DR) by using antibody array technology and analyze their clinical significances. Methods Among 32 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, 16 patients with mild to moderate non-proliferative DR were as DR group; and 16 patients without retinopathy, as diabetic control group. Eight healthy subjects were selected as normal control group. The profiles of 42 cytokines were detected by human cytokines antibody array (Raybiotech). Results Compared with diabetic control group, in DR group, levels of epithelial neutrophil-activating peptide-78 (ENA-78), growth related gene (GRO), regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), angiogenin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) increased significantly (P<0.05); but IL-1α decreased (P<0.05). In DR group, the serum ENA-78 excretions were 1.88 folds and 3.6 folds in comparison to diabetic control and normal control groups, respectively. Conclusion The findings of significant changes in serum cytokine profiles of patients with early DR provide evidence to support the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of DR. These cytokines may also provide biological markers to clinical prediction of early DR.

Key words: early diabetic retinopathy, cytokines, serum, antibody array