Purpose: The current study was designed to investigate the role of circulating bone marrow (BM)-derived stem cells in the pathogenesis of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV), a distinct type of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Methods: Thirty one clinically documented PCV patients were enrolled. Circulating BM-derived stem cells were collected from the patients' peripheral blood and cultured. Colony forming capacity (Hill assay) and migration activity (Boyden chamber system) were examined and analyzed.
Results: Colony forming units (CFU-Hill) were significantly fewer in bilateral PCV patients than in unilateral PCV patients. CFU-Hill was impaired in patients with larger (> 5000 microm) PCV lesions compared with patients with smaller PCV lesions. Migration activity of BM-derived stem cells was also reduced significantly in the bilateral PCV patients than in the unilateral PCV patients.
Conclusions: Similar to CNV associated with AMD, impaired functional activity of circulating BM-derived stem cells was observed in PCV patients with bilateral or larger lesions. Circulating BM-derived stem cells may have a role in the pathogenesis of PCV.