Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Circulating Anti-endothelial Cell Antibodies in Patients with Geographic Atrophy Related to Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Version 1 : Received: 23 April 2024 / Approved: 23 April 2024 / Online: 24 April 2024 (08:57:21 CEST)

How to cite: Żuber-Łaskawiec, K.; Wilańska, J.; Karska-Basta, I.; Pociej-Marciak, W.; Romanowska-Dixon, B.; Sanak, M.; Kubicka-Trząska, A. Circulating Anti-endothelial Cell Antibodies in Patients with Geographic Atrophy Related to Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Preprints 2024, 2024041565. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202404.1565.v1 Żuber-Łaskawiec, K.; Wilańska, J.; Karska-Basta, I.; Pociej-Marciak, W.; Romanowska-Dixon, B.; Sanak, M.; Kubicka-Trząska, A. Circulating Anti-endothelial Cell Antibodies in Patients with Geographic Atrophy Related to Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Preprints 2024, 2024041565. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202404.1565.v1

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the major causes of central vision loss in the older age group and its dry form accounts for the majority of cases. Although several causes and mechanisms for the development and progression of AMD have previously been identified, the pathogenesis of this complex disease is still not entirely understood. As the inflammation and involvement of the immune system are strongly suggested to have a central role to promote the degenerative process and to stimulate the onset of complications, we aimed to analyze the prevalence of serum anti-retinal (ARA) and anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECA) in patients with dry AMD and to determine their relationship with the clinical features of the disease, notably area of geographic atrophy (GA). Materials and Methods: We enrolled 41 patients with dry AMD and 50 sex- and age-matched healthy controls without AMD. The presence of ARA was determined by indirect immunofluorescence using monkey retina as an antigen substrate, while the presence of AECA was determined using cultivated human umbilical vein endothelial cells and primate skeletal muscle. Results: ARA were detected 36 (87.8%) AMD patients (titers range from 1:20 to 1:320) and in 16 (39.0%) (titers range from 1:10 to 1:40) of controls (p=0.0000). Twenty of the 41 patients (48.8%) were positive for AECA, while in a control group AECA were present only in 5 sera (10.0%). The titers of AECA in AMD patients ranged from 1:100 to 1:1000 and in the control group the AECA titers were 1:100 (p=0.0001). There were no significant correlations between the presence of AECA and disease activity. Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the possible involvement of an autoimmune process against retina and retinal vessel antigens in the pathogenesis of geographic atrophy associated with dry AMD.

Keywords

anti-retinal antibodies; anti-endothelial cell antibodies; age-related macular degeneration; geographic atrophy; indirect immunofluorescence

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Ophthalmology

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Metrics 0


×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.