Dataset Information

Plasma apolipoproteins and risk for age related maculopathy.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

To determine if elevated plasma levels of atherogenic and/or anti-atherogenic lipoproteins are risk factors for developing age related maculopathy (ARM).

Methods

In a cross sectional study in a university clinic setting, 129 patients (72 women and 57 men) underwent colour fundus photography, acuity and contrast sensitivity assessment, and electroimmunoassays of plasma apolipoproteins B (apoB) and A-I (apoA-I), the principal proteins of low density and high density lipoproteins, respectively. Maculopathy stage was assigned using the AREDS grading system.

Results

Levels of apoB in no ARM, mild, intermediate, and advanced ARM groups were 93.3, 91.8, 95.2, and 98.2 mg/dl, respectively. Levels of apoA-I were 147.4, 148.6, 141.0, and 144.9 mg/dl in the same groups. There was no significant association between these measures, typical for age, and maculopathy stage.

Conclusion

Although drusen associated with ARM and ageing contain cholesterol and apoB, like the lipid rich core of an atherosclerotic plaque, the results of this study and our previous work in toto make the prospects of a plasma origin for these lesion constituents increasingly untenable. This conclusion is consistent with an emerging hypothesis that a large lipoprotein of intraocular origin is an important pathway for constituent retinal lipid processing and the biogenesis of drusen.

SUBMITTER: Dashti N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1857205 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Plasma apolipoproteins and risk for age related maculopathy.

Dashti N N McGwin G G Owsley C C Curcio C A CA

The British journal of ophthalmology 20060524 8

<h4>Aim</h4>To determine if elevated plasma levels of atherogenic and/or anti-atherogenic lipoproteins are risk factors for developing age related maculopathy (ARM).<h4>Methods</h4>In a cross sectional study in a university clinic setting, 129 patients (72 women and 57 men) underwent colour fundus photography, acuity and contrast sensitivity assessment, and electroimmunoassays of plasma apolipoproteins B (apoB) and A-I (apoA-I), the principal proteins of low density and high density lipoproteins ...[more]

PMID: 16723359

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Project description:PURPOSE: To investigate the characteristics of dynamic processing in the visual field of patients with age-related maculopathy (ARM) by measuring motion sensitivity, double-pulse resolution (DPR), and critical flicker fusion. METHODS: Fourteen subjects with ARM (18 eyes), 14 age-matched controls (19 eyes), and 7 young controls (8 eyes) served as subjects. Motion contrast thresholds were determined by a four-alternative forced-choice (4 afc) staircase procedure with a modification by Kernbach for presenting a plaid (size = 3.8 degrees) moving within a stationary spatial and temporal Gaussian envelope in one of four directions. Measurements were performed on the horizontal meridian at 10 degrees, 20 degrees, 30 degrees, 40 degrees, and 60 degrees eccentricity. DPR was defined as the minimal temporal gap detectable by the subject using a 9-fold interleaved adaptive procedure, with stimuli positioned on concentric rings at 5 degrees, 10 degrees, and 20 degrees eccentricity on the principal and oblique meridians. Critical flicker fusion thresholds (CFF) and the Lanthony D-15 color vision test were applied foveally, and the subjects were free to use their fovea or whatever retinal area they needed to use instead, due to their retinal lesions caused by ARM. All measurements were performed under photopic conditions. RESULTS: Motion contrast sensitivity in subjects with ARM was pronouncedly reduced (0.23-0.66 log units, p < 0.01), not only in the macula but in a region up to 20 degrees eccentricity. In the two control groups, motion contrast sensitivity systematically declined with retinal eccentricity (0.009-0.032 log units/degree) and with age (0.01 log units/year). Double-pulse thresholds in healthy subjects were approximately constant in the central visual field and increased outside a radius of 10 degrees (1.73 ms/degree). DPR thresholds were elevated in subjects with ARM (by 23-32 ms, p < 0.01) up to 20 degrees eccentricity, and their foveal CFFs were increased by 5.5 Hz or 14% (p < 0.01) as compared with age-matched controls. CONCLUSIONS: Dynamic processing properties in subjects with ARM are severely impaired in the central visual field up to 20 degrees eccentricity, which is clearly beyond the borders of the macula.

Project description:AIM:Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a multifactorial disease and a prevalent cause of visual impairment in developed countries. Many studies suggest that age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 (ARMS2) is a second major susceptibility gene for AMD. At present, there is no functional information on this gene. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to detect the expression of ARMS2 in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells and to investigate the effect of ARMS2 on the phagocytosis function of RPE cells. METHODS:Immunofluorescence and reverse transcriptase PCR were used to demonstrate the presence and location of ARMS2 in ARPE-19 (human retinal pigment epithelial cell line, ATCC, catalog No.CRL-2302) cells. siRNA was used to knock down ARMS2 mRNA, and the effects of the knockdown on the phagocytosis function of the ARPE-19 cells were evaluated via Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS). RESULTS:ARMS2 was present in ARPE-19 cells, localized in the cytosol of the perinuclear region. The expression of ARMS2 mRNA (messenger RNA) in ARPE-19 cells transfected with ARMS2-siRNA (small interfering RNA, 0.73±0.08) was decreased compared with normal cells (1.00±0.00) or with cells transfected with scrambled siRNA (0.95±0.13) (P<0.05). After incubation of RPE cells with a latex beads medium for 12, 18, or 24 hours, the fluorescence intensities were 38.04±1.02, 68.92±0.92, and 78.00±0.12 in the ARMS2-siRNA-transfected groups, respectively, and 77.98±5.43, 94.87±0.60, and 98.30±0.11 in the scrambled siRNA-transfected groups, respectively. The fluorescent intensities of the same time points in the two groups were compared using Student's t-test, and the p values were all less than 0.001 at the three different time points. CONCLUSION:There is endogenous expression of ARMS2 in ARPE-19 cells. ARMS2 plays a role in the phagocytosis function of RPE cells, and this role may be one of the mechanisms that participates in the development of AMD.

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Dataset Information

Plasma apolipoproteins and risk for age related maculopathy.

Aim

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Plasma apolipoproteins and risk for age related maculopathy.

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