{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T13:37:54Z","timestamp":1792762674480,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,8]],"date-time":"2025-12-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765152000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>High myopia is associated with structural and molecular changes in the eye, particularly involving hypoxia-responsive and fibrotic mediators. Growing evidence points to a subset of growth factors as central mediators of these alterations. Among these, our findings identify HIF-1\u03b1 and PDGF-BB as key contributors to the progression of myopia.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This cross-sectional study included 88 Caucasian patients undergoing cataract surgery, categorized into control, low myopia, and high myopia groups based on axial length. Clinical assessments involved interferometric axial length measurement, swept-source OCT for choroidal thickness, and maculopathy classification following IMI guidelines. Aqueous humor samples were collected intraoperatively and analyzed using multiplex Quantibody arrays to quantify HIF-1\u03b1, VEGF, HGF, PDGF-BB, IL-6, and IL-17. Statistical analyses included Kruskal\u2013Wallis tests with Bonferroni correction and correlation analyses to explore associations between molecular profiles and clinical severity.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Patients with high myopia exhibited significantly reduced choroidal thickness and increased axial length (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.01), along with a higher prevalence of degenerative maculopathy (71.9%). Molecular profiling revealed lower levels of HIF-1\u03b1 and VEGF (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.01), and elevated levels of PDGF-BB (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05), HGF, and IL-6 (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.01) in the high myopia group. HIF-1\u03b1 levels showed inverse correlations with disease severity, while PDGF-BB correlated positively with fibrotic markers. No significant differences were observed in IL-17 levels.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>For the first time, this study identifies significant alterations in HIF-1\u03b1 and PDGF-BB levels in high myopia, with consistent correlations to key clinical parameters such as axial length, choroidal thickness, and maculopathy severity. These findings indicate an association suggesting a shift from adaptive hypoxia signaling toward fibrotic remodeling in high myopia. The suppression of HIF-1\u03b1 and upregulation of PDGF-BB suggest a molecular imbalance that may be associated with structural degeneration. The integration of clinical imaging and aqueous humor profiling supports the potential of HIF-1\u03b1 and PDGF-BB as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in pathological myopia.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2025.1705777","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,8]],"date-time":"2025-12-08T06:30:27Z","timestamp":1765175427000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Hypoxia and growth factor profiling in high myopia: linking HIF-1\u03b1 suppression and PDGF-BB activation to structural degeneration"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Salvador","family":"M\u00e9rida","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Enrique","family":"Garc\u00eda-Gen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carmen","family":"Desco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amparo","family":"Navea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francisco","family":"Bosch-Morell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"362","DOI":"10.1136\/bjo-2024-325427","article-title":"Global prevalence, trend and projection of myopia in children and adolescents from 1990 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