Ocular cytokinome is linked to clinical characteristics in ocular toxoplasmosis
Alejandra de-la-Torre1, Alexander W Pfaff2, Michael E Grigg3
1Universidad del Rosario, Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Departamento de Inmunología, Bogotá, Colombia.
Purpose:
To determine the cytokine levels in aqueous humor (AH) of Colombian patients with active ocular toxoplasmosis (OT), and to correlate them with their clinical characteristics.
Methods:
27 Cytokines/chemokines were assayed in 15 AH samples (nine patients with diagnosis of OT biologically-confirmed and six controls that underwent cataract surgery). Correlations were assessed between cytokine/chemokine levels, type of inflammatory response (Th1, Th2, Th17, Treg), and clinical characteristics.
Results:
Th2 predominant response was related to more severe clinical features. The presence of VEGF and IL-5 was related to higher number of recurrences. Growth factors (VEGF, FGF, PDGF-β), were related to higher number of lesions. Patients infected by type-I/III strains had a particular intraocular cytokine-pattern.
Conclusions:
Th2 response was related to more severe clinical characteristics in patients infected by Type I/III strains. IL-5 and VEGF were associated with recurrences. We correlate for the first time, specific cytokine-patterns with clinical characteristics and with the infecting Toxoplasma strain.
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