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Agonistic β 2 receptor autoantibodies in ocular hypertension and open‐angle glaucoma
Author(s) -
Hohberger B.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2016.0131
Subject(s) - glaucoma , autoantibody , medicine , pathogenesis , ophthalmology , intraocular pressure , immunology , antibody
Summary Pathogenesis of glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness, is widely unknown till now. An involvement of immunological processes is discussed. Agonistic autoantibodies against β 2‐adrenergic receptor autoantibodies ( β 2‐AABs) were found in a high rate of 69% in sera of glaucoma suspects and 78% in glaucoma patients, yet not in normals. β 2‐AABs were of subclass type IgG3, interacting with the second extracellular loop of β 2‐adrenergic receptor. Immunadsorption of AABs in 5 patients with primary open‐angle glaucoma resulted in a transient reduction of intraocular pressure. As β 2‐AABs are involved in the regulation of aqueous humor dynamics and show a strong correlation with retinal capillary flow, a potential influence of β 2‐AABs on retinal microcirculation and involvement in the pathogenesis of glaucoma is suggested.