To investigate the relationship between angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL-4) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the serum and vitreous of eyes in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).

Thirty-five eyes of 35 patients with PDR, 20 eyes of 20 patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, 20 eyes of 20 patients with diabetes but no diabetic retinopathy, and 14 eyes of 14 nondiabetic patients with an idiopathic macular hole (IMH) were recruited from Shanghai First People’s Hospital. The ANGPTL-4 and VEGF concentrations were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Group means were compared using one-way analysis of variance with GraphPad Prism 4.0 and SPSS ver. 17.0. The research followed the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.

The ANGPTL-4 and VEGF levels were significantly higher in the vitreous and serum of patients with PDR compared with patients with IMH. There were significant correlations between the ANGPTL-4 and VEGF levels in the vitreous and serum of patients with PDR. The vitreous and serum ANGPTL-4 levels were also significantly correlated in patients with PDR. The ANGPTL-4 in both the vitreous and serum correlated with the serum triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.

The ANGPTL-4 levels were markedly elevated and the ANGPTL-4 expression was directly correlated with the VEGF expression in the vitreous and serum of patients with PDR. The vitreous and serum ANGPTL-4 levels were also significantly correlated with serum lipids in patients with PDR. Our results suggest that the ANGPTL-4 may be used as a new therapeutic target for the treatment of PDR.