Evaluation of protein profile in vitreous samples of patients with naive age-related macular degeneration using...

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) represents one of the most common causes of permanent vision impairment in individuals over 50 years of age.

This study aims to characterize AMD using proteomic analysis to enhance diagnosis and treatment strategies. In a prospective case-control clinical trial, vitreous fluids (VF) from thirteen AMD patients were collected during surgery and analyzed by 2DE-based MALDI TOF-TOF MS/MS. PANTHER and STRING analyses were performed to investigate the biological relationships between the identified proteins and to determine relevant cellular pathways.

A total of 11 proteins were differentially regulated between AMD patients and healthy controls. Among them, Apolipoprotein E was significantly up-regulated (↑3-fold), while ten proteins, including alpha-crystallin A chain (↓779-fold), beta-crystallin B2 (↓232-fold), and haptoglobin (↓15-fold), were markedly down-regulated. These quantitative differences underscore the critical role of lipid metabolism, oxidative stress response, and inflammation in AMD pathogenesis.

The identified proteins are related to biological regulation, retinal protection, and regulation of inflammation and angiogenesis processes. The up-regulation of Apolipoprotein E highlights its involvement in lipid metabolism and inflammatory modulation, while the sharp down-regulation of crystallin family proteins suggests compromised retinal protection against oxidative stress and apoptosis. These protein alterations provide new insights into AMD pathogenesis and may serve as potential biomarkers for early diagnosis and novel therapeutic targets in managing the disease.