@article {1647888,
	title = {Elevated Retinol Binding Protein 3 Concentrations Are Associated With Decreased Vitreous Inflammatory Cytokines, VEGF, and Progression of Diabetic Retinopathy},
	journal = {Diabetes Care},
	volume = {45},
	number = {9},
	year = {2022},
	month = {2022 Sep 01},
	pages = {2159-2162},
	abstract = {OBJECTIVE: To correlate inflammatory cytokines and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in vitreous and plasma with vitreous retinol binding protein 3 (RBP3), diabetic retinopathy (DR) severity, and DR worsening in a population with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: RBP3, VEGF, and inflammatory cytokines were measured in plasma and vitreous samples (n = 205) from subjects of the Joslin Medalist Study and Beetham Eye Institute. RESULTS: Higher vitreous RBP3 concentrations were associated with less severe DR (P \&lt; 0.0001) and a reduced risk of developing proliferative DR (PDR) (P \&lt; 0.0001). Higher RBP3 correlated with increased photoreceptor segment thickness and lower vitreous interleukin-12 (IL-12), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and TNF-β (P \&lt; 0.05). PDR was associated with lower vitreous interferon-γ and IL-10 and higher VEGF, IL-6, and IL-15 (P \&lt; 0.05), but was not associated with their plasma concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Higher vitreous RBP3 concentrations are associated with less severe DR and slower rates of progression to PDR, supporting its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic agent for preventing DR worsening, possibly by lowering retinal VEGF and inflammatory cytokines.},
	keywords = {Cytokines, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Diabetic Retinopathy, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Eye Proteins, Humans, Retinol-Binding Proteins, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A, Vitreous Body},
	issn = {1935-5548},
	doi = {10.2337/dc22-0165},
	author = {Fickweiler, Ward and Park, Hyunseok and Park, Kyoungmin and Mitzner, Margalit G and Chokshi, Tanvi and Boumenna, Tahani and Gautier, John and Zaitsu, Yumi and Wu, I-Hsien and Cavallerano, Jerry and Aiello, Lloyd P and Sun, Jennifer K and King, George L}
}
