Context: In Graves' ophthalmopathy a major problem is an increase in the intraorbital adipose tissue volume.
Objective: The aim of this work was to define mechanisms of orbital adipogenesis.
Design: This was an open-label prospective study.
Setting: The study was conducted at the Clinic of Endocrinology, University Hospital.
Participants: The study consisted of patients (n = 5) with severe ophthalmopathy with affection of the optic nerve and thyroid healthy controls (n = 5).
Interventions: We performed lateral decompression of orbital tissue in patients unresponsive to corticosteroids and restorative surgery of the upper eyelid in thyroid healthy controls.
Main outcome measure: We made large-scale measurements of gene expression, with microarray technique based on determination of fluorescence intensities in cases and controls.
Results: A marker of adipose tissue, stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase, was overexpressed in ophthalmopathy, and selection criteria were set to favor identification of genes known to be expressed in normal adipogenesis. The immediate early gene, cysteine-rich, angiogenic inducer, 61 (CYR61), was overexpressed in addition to 15 other immediate early genes (IEGs), and the expression of selected IEGs was confirmed with RT-PCR: CYR61, cyclooxygenase-2, dual-specificity phosphatase 1, B cell translocation gene 2, and early growth response 1. CYR61-responsive genes, known to participate in inflammation, IL-1beta, matrix metalloproteinase-3, and vascular endothelial growth factor were also overexpressed. Patients showed greater expression of CYR61 in the active than the chronic phase of ophthalmopathy, indicating that CYR61 is a marker of disease activity. Cyclooxygenase-2, the target gene of IL-1beta, was also overexpressed, although all patients had been treated with corticosteroids.
Conclusion: Adipocyte-related IEGs are overexpressed in active ophthalmopathy, and CYR61 may have a role in both orbital inflammation and adipogenesis and serve as a marker of disease activity.