Aqueous Humor Cytokine Profiling in nAMD

In nAMD group, before the first intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF agents, approximately 0.1 mL of undiluted aqueous humor was collected by performing an anterior chamber limbal paracentesis. In control group, undiluted aqueous humor samples were obtained at the beginning of cataract surgery. The aqueous humor samples were transferred into sterile tubes and stored at −80 °C until processing. No complication associated with the sampling of aqueous humor occurred. Twenty-seven cytokines in the aqueous humor samples were measured by a Bio-Plex multiplex assay (Bio-Plex Human Cytokine 27-plex panel; Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA) and a multiplex bead analysis system (Bio-Plex Suspension Array System; Bio-Rad) according to manufacturers’ instructions. All standards and samples were assayed in duplicate. Levels of aqueous humor cytokines below detectable levels were treated as 0 for statistical analysis^{9 (link),18 (link)}.