Assesment Of Protein Profile In Vitreus Samples Of Patients With Age-Related Macular Degeneration By Proteomic Approaches

Abstract Background: To investigate the protein content in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with the aim of revealing the pathogenesis of the disease. Methods: Two groups were formed: 13 patients as the AMD group and 11 patients as the healthy control group. Vitreous samples were taken from both groups under sterile conditions and sent to the proteomics laboratory for proteomics analysis. In this study, we evaluated the proteome of vitreous samples of AMD and control groups using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) coupled with MALDI-TOF/TOF.Results: We detected 11 proteins differentially regulated in the vitreous of AMD patients relative to healthy controls. The only protein that was up-regulated was Apolipoprotein E. We observed that Alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AAG), Leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein (LRG-1), Alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein, Haptoglobin, Alpha-Crystalline A Chain, Alpha- Crystalline B Chain, Immunoglobulin kappa constant, Beta-crystallin B2, Beta-crystallin A3, Beta-crystallin S levels were significantly decreased in patients with AMD. Conclusion: The detected proteins are related to biological regulation, retinal protection, and regulation of inflammation and angiogenesis processes. We believe that investigating these proteins will help to reveal the pathological mechanisms of AMD.