Radchenko Yu. А.

P. L. Shupyk National Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education, Kyiv, Ukraine 

Abstract. Nowadays primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is considered as both ophthalmic and neurodegenerative disease. Mitochondrial dysfunction is proved to cause the development of neurodegeneration, and systemic mitochondrial efficiency is associated with resistance to progressive glaucomatous optic neuropathy.

 Objective. To investigate the mitochondrial activity of immune cells in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma.

 Object and research methods. There were investigated blood samples. There were formed 2 study groups. The main group (n = 34) consisted of patients with POAG stage I–IV showing different degrees of intraocular pressure normalization and age-related cataract. The main group was also divided into 4 subgroups depending on POAG severity degree. The control group (n = 27) comprised patients with age-related cataract. The patient’s sex and age distribution was uniform in all the groups. Autoimmune diseases and severe impairments of the cardiovascular system were exclusion criteria. The mitochondrial membrane potential changes were tested on PAS flow cytometer (Partec, Germany) using a routine method with rhodamine 123 and propidium iodide («Fluka»). There were differentiated cellular subpopulations with hyperactivated mitochondria in which rhodamine 123 accumulation values were significantly higher than those in the main subpopulation; it was calculated their percentage contribution to the general population. The statistical data were processed using the Statistica program.

 Results and discussion. There was revealed a statistically significant decrease in the number of cells with hyperactivated mitochondria in patients with POAG (0.94 ± 0.43 % (M ± SD)) as compared with the reference value (1.59 ± 0.43 %). While studying the dependence of MBC (blood mononuclear cells) level with hyperactivated mitochondria on the severity of POAG there was found the disease severity dependent linear decrease in the number of hyperactivated MBC (1.24 ± 0.71 % – in the first group, 1.12 ± 0.40 % – in the second group, 0.79 ± 0. 40 % – in the third group, 0.76 ± 0.40 % – in the fourth group).

 Conclusions. 1. A statistically significant difference in the number of cells with a high content of hyperpolarized mitochondria between the main group and the controls, as well as almost linear dependence of the decreased number of cell with a high content of hyperpolarized mitochondria on the degree of POAG, are indicative of a significant decline in the adaptation properties of the cells and implication of systemic decrease in mitochondrial function at the bodily level in development of POAG.

 2. A further study of the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in the development of POAG may open up prospects for the development of new pathogenetically substantiated therapy.

 Keywords: primary open-angle glaucoma, blood mononuclear cells, mitochondrial activity, hyperpolarized mitochondria.

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Received: 18 May 2016

Published: December 2016