Fax +41 61 306 12 34 E-Mail karger@karger.ch www.karger.com Original Paper Ophthalmic Res 2012;47:7–12 DOI: 10.1159/000324200 Vitreous Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Concentrations in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy versus Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy Mehmet Citirik   a Emrah Utku Kabatas   a Cosar Batman   a Kadir Okhan Akin   b Naciye Kabatas   a   a  SB Ankara Ulucanlar Eye Education and Research Hospital and b  Department of Biochemistry, SB Ankara Kecioren Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey centrations were significantly higher in the patients with grade C PVR, PDR with vitreous hemorrhage and PDR with vitreous hemorrhage and tractional retinal detachment in comparison to the control patients (p ! 0.05). A significant alteration was not observed in patients with grade B PVR (p = 0.55). Conclusions: Vitreous VEGF concentrations are in- creased in PDR and grade C PVR. The high VEGF concentra- tions could suggest a possible effect of VEGF on advanced PVR. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel Introduction Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) regulates vascular proliferative activities in response to tissue oxy- genation levels [1]. Hypoxia is a key regulator of VEGF- induced ocular neovascularization. VEGF promotes the formation of new capillary segments and vascular matu- ration through pericyte and smooth-muscle recruitment [2]. Thus, VEGF-A plays a pivotal role in the development of pathological angiogenesis in ischemic inflammatory diseases. Hypoxia upregulates the production of VEGF-A in a wide variety of retinal cells [3]. The VEGF-A level is correlated with the growth and regression of new vessels in ocular tissues [4]. In the retina, the primary sources of Key Words Proliferative diabetic retinopathy  Proliferative vitreoretinopathy  Retinal detachment  Vascular endothelial growth factor Abstract Purpose: To assess vitreous vascular endothelial growth fac- tor (VEGF) concentrations in proliferative diabetic retinopa- thy (PDR) in comparison to proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). Patients and Methods: Vitreous samples were col- lected from 69 eyes of 69 patients with traumatic lens dislo- cation (n = 10), grade B PVR with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (n = 13), grade C PVR with rhegmatogenous ret- inal detachment (n = 14), PDR with vitreous hemorrhage (n = 18), and PDR with vitreous hemorrhage and tractional retinal detachment (n = 14). Vitreous fluid samples were ob- tained at vitrectomy, and the levels of VEGF were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The mean vitreous level of VEGF was 15.14 8 5.22 pg/ml in eyes with grade B PVR, 99.15 8 38.58 pg/ml in eyes with grade C PVR, 4,534.01 8 1,193.28 pg/ml in eyes with vitreous hemorrhage secondary to PDR, 5,157.29 8 969.44 pg/ml in eyes with vit- reous hemorrhage and tractional retinal detachment sec- ondary to PDR, and 16.19 8 5.76 pg/ml in eyes of the control group with traumatic lens dislocation. Vitreous VEGF con- Received: October 20, 2010 Accepted after revision: January 10, 2011 Published online: June 21, 2011 Mehmet Citirik Fakülteler Mh. Yazgan Sk. No. 34/12 TR–06590 Ankara (Turkey) Tel. +90 312 312 6261, E-Mail mcitirik  @  hotmail.com © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel 0030–3747/12/0471–0007$38.00/0 Accessible online at: www.karger.com/ore