Level of VEGF and IL-6 in the aqueous humor of II diabetic patients

Objective: To explore the role of VEGF and IL-6 in the aqueous humor in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy(DR).Methods: Aqueous humor samples were collected from diabetic patients with cataracts or without retinopathy,and aqueous humor samples from non-diabetic patients with cataracts were chosen as controls.The content of VEGF in the aqueous humor was determined by using the ELISA technique.Results: The level of VEGF in the aqueous humor samples of diabetic patients without retinopathy(NDR),background diabetic retinopathy(BDR) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy(PDR) were(220.27±25.69)pg/ml,(284.31±58.92)pg/ml and(459.07±90.90)pg/ml.The level of IL-6 in the aqueous humor from NDR,BDR and PDR were(154.09±32.76)pg/ml,(221.81±60.52)pg/ml and(387.95±90.22)pg/ml.The levels of VEGF and IL-6 in the aqueous humour from the control group were(135.50±25.69)pg/ml,( 78.71±20.37)pg/ml.Compared with the control,the level of VEGF and IL-6 in the aqueous humor of diabetic patients increased significantly(P0.01).The level of VEGF and IL-6 in the aqueous of the NDR,BDR and PDR also increased significantly(P0.01).The level of VEGF significantly correlated with the level of IL-6 in the aqueous humor(r=0.995,P0.01).The level of VEGF and IL-6 in the aqueous humor also significantly correlated with the severity and prolongation of DR(r=0.869,P0.01;r=0.865,P0.01).Conclusion: VEGF and IL-6 play active roles in the generation and development of DR,and the level of VEGF in the aqueous humor closely correlates with the level of IL-6 in the aqueous humour of diabetic patients.