The Vitreous Proteome and Inflammatory Mediators in Ocular Inflammatory Disease

Newer therapies to treat many ocular disorders including uveitis are being considered and studied. We do not have a clear picture as to what lymphokines/chemokines are present in the vitreous or anterior chamber fluid of patients with active intraocular inflammatory disease as well as other disorders with a proposed inflammatory component such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetes. Further, no studies have been yet performed evaluating the proteome of the vitreous or anterior chamber fluid in the uveitic, AMD and diabetic state. This is a natural history study with specimens taken after indicated surgery for patients with uveitis and other studies. Specimens of anterior chamber fluid and vitreous will be evaluated for 32 cytokines and the proteome using systems permitting the evaluation of small amounts of material. A serum sample will be taken at the same time to compare with the lymphokine profile found in the vitreous. Previously, patients participating in the MUST (Multicenter Uveitis Steroid Treatment) study, a randomized study evaluating an ocular steroid implant versus standard immunosuppressive therapy for the treatment of intermediate and posterior uveitis, were enrolled. However, as the MUST study is complete; we are currently only accepting participants from the NEI or other intramural NIH studies where permission is obtained from the patient to allow such evaluations to be done.