Abstract
SummaryThe tear film overlying the delicate ocular surface epithelial cells are a complex extra‐cellular fluid with components from the orbital and accessory lacrimal glands, ocular surface epithelial cells, goblet cells, Meibomium glands and as an ultrafiltrate of the blood. Molecular information regarding the health of the ocular surface is reflected in both the quantity and quality of the tear constituents. Moreover, this information can be acquired quantitatively and used for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of ocular surface disease and can be used as biomarkers for precision medicine. Recent studies have shown that the tear proteome contains over 1,500 identifiable proteins. Highly abundant proteins include lysozyme, lactoferrin, lipocalin, lacritin, and the proline rich proteins. The tear proteome is clearly shown not to be a simple reflection of the blood. As an extracellular fluid, inflammation is revealed in the tear fluid by upregulation of the pro‐inflammatory proteins S100A8 and S100A9.
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