Level of vitreous alpha-B crystallin in eyes with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment

Alpha-B crystallin (alpha B-crystallin) is a molecular chaperone, and one of the small heat shock proteins (sHSPs). alpha B-crystallin has been shown to have neuroprotective properties. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of alpha B-crystallin in eyes with a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). Vitreous samples were collected before vitrectomy from 32 eyes of 32 consecutive patients with RRD. The concentration of alpha B-crystallin was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Vitreous samples were also collected before vitrectomy from 16 patients with an idiopathic macular hole and epiretinal membrane, and used as controls. The mean age was 56 years (range, 31-67 years) in the RRD cases and 66 years (range, 49-77 years) in the controls. The mean level of alpha B-crystallin was significantly higher in the RRD cases (36.7 +/- 37.4 ng/ml) than that in controls (8.5 +/- 12.2 ng/ml; P = 0.0028). The increased level of alpha B-crystallin suggests that alpha B-crystallin may play a neuroprotective role by lessening retinal cell death after a retinal detachment.