Levels of thrombopoietin in aqueous humor of patients with noninfectious acute anterior uveitis

PURPOSE: To measure thrombopoietin (TPO) levels in the serum and aqueous humors of patients with noninfectious acute anterior uveitis. METHODS: A prospective, comparative, controlled study. Serum and aqueous humors were obtained from the eyes of 16 patients with noninfectious acute anterior uveitis. TPO levels were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results obtained were compared with those of a control group. RESULTS: Serum concentrations of TPO were not significantly different between control individuals and patients with active anterior uveitis. Aqueous humor TPO levels were 54.46±16.24 pg/mL in the eyes of patients with uveitis, and 34.32±11.63 pg/mL in the eyes of controls. The difference between the two groups was significant (Mann–Whitney U-test for independent data, P=0.0008), with uveitis patients exhibiting significantly higher levels of TPO. CONCLUSION: The high levels of TPO in the aqueous humors of uveitis patients points toward a cytoprotective role of this factor in inflammatory repair processes and the recovery of tissue homeostasis.