Adipokine levels in subretinal fluid from patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

Adipokines have recently emerged as a novel group of mediators with important roles in inflammatory and immune responses and in the process of wound healing. This study investigated the involvement of several adipokines in the future development of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) following reattachment surgery for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). A multiplex immunoassay was used to measure 6 different adipokines in 75 subretinal fluid samples collected during reattachment surgery for primary RRD. Twenty-one patients who developed a redetachment due to postoperative PVR after scleral buckling surgery (PVR group) were compared with age-, sex-, and storage-time-matched RRD samples from 54 patients with an uncomplicated postoperative course (RRD group). Levels of adiponectin (P = 0.006), cathepsin S (P = 0.001), and leptin (P = 0.041) were significantly elevated in the PVR group as compared to the RRD group. Levels of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 were significantly lower in the PVR group than in the RRD group (P = 0.044). After correction for diabetes, body mass index (BMI), macular involvement, and preoperative PVR, the association between postoperative PVR development and adiponectin, cathepsin S, and TIMP-1 remained statistically significant (P <0.05), whereas the significant correlation between PVR and elevated leptin levels was lost (P = 0.068). There were no significant differences in levels of chemerin (P = 0.351) and adipsin (P = 0.915). Of all adipokines investigated, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that adiponectin was the exclusive predictor of the development of postoperative PVR after scleral buckling surgery (P = 0.003). Our findings indicate that, at the time of surgery for primary RRD, an altered expression of certain adipokines is associated with the future development of postoperative PVR.