T cells in glaucoma patients may have an altered pattern

BALTIMORE — Researchers proposed that the body’s self-defense mechanisms may be abnormally activated in glaucoma, resulting in an attack on the nerve cells, according to a presentation at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting.

“We hope that this alteration detected in glaucoma patients may serve as a biomarker in the future,” Gulgun Tezel, MD, professor at the Columbia University Department of Ophthalmology, said in an interview with Healio.com/OSN. “Due to the various etiological differences in patients with glaucoma, it may not be a single biomarker but multiple approaches that work together to provide more useful information on the susceptibility of glaucoma.”

Blood samples were taken from 19 patients with glaucoma and 14 age- and gender-matched control subjects.

Researchers isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells, which were stained with fluorescence-labeled antibodies to T cell subsets and analyzed to calculate their percentage distribution.

Researchers found a glaucoma-related shift by analyzing T cell subset distribution.

“The helper T cell (Th) fractions were phenotyped based on the expression of CD4 and distinctive markers,” according to the presentation.

“By isolating T lymphocytes from the patients’ blood and immunizing them for T cell markers, we detected some a decrease in regulatory T cell production that may increase the susceptibility of patients to immunogenic-mediated mechanisms,” Tezel said.

In glaucomatous and nonglaucomatous samples, the CD4 to CD8 ratios were similar. “However, glaucomatous samples exhibited a trend toward altered pattern of regulatory T cells, which was prominent by decreased ratios of CD4+/CD25+/FoxP3+ (CD4 Treg) and CD8+/CD25+/FoxP3+ (CD8 Treg) regulatory T cell populations relative to entire CD4+ or CD8+ populations, respectively (P < .03),” the presentation said.

T cell population shifts were detected that support the altered immune homeostasis toward autoimmunity in human glaucoma, according to the researchers. – by Abigail Sutton

Reference:

Yang X, et al. T cell response in human glaucoma. Presented at: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting; May 7-11, 2017; Baltimore.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.