Myocilin levels in the aqueous humor of open-angle glaucoma patients

Purpose: To investigate the concentration of myocilin in the aqueous humor of open-angle glaucoma (OAG) patients, including correlations with glaucoma subtypes and intraocular pressure (IOP). Patients and Methods: The study comprised 85 patients with OAG. Glaucoma subtypes included 35 cases of high tension glaucoma (HTG), 25 cases of normal tension glaucoma (NTG), and 25 cases of exfoliation glaucoma (ExG). Forty-five patients with senile cataract were included as control. The concentrations of myocilin in the aqueous humor were measured by plotting the densitometry readings of the aqueous humor samples against a recombinant myocilin standard curve. Additionally, the relationships with the glaucoma subtypes, IOP, and glaucoma severity were analyzed. Results: A significantly higher percentage of patients in the glaucoma subgroups were positive for myocilin compared with the cataract group. The mean myocilin concentrations among the glaucoma positive case subgroups were not different (P=0.326). Myocilin levels were significantly higher in human HTG compared with cataract group (P<0.05). There were no significant correlations between the myocilin concentration and the IOP or the severity of glaucoma. Conclusion: Myocilin-positive patients were significant in the glaucoma subgroups than in the cataract group, with a highly significant difference observed for HTG patients.

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