Abstract
BackgroundDiseases of the anterior segment of the eye may present different mechanisms, intensity of symptoms, and impact on the patients’ quality of life and vision. The tear film is in direct contact with the ocular surface and cornea and can be easily accessed for sample collection, figuring as a promising source of potential biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment control. This study aimed to evaluate tear proteomic profile in 3 distinct ocular diseases: keratoconus (corneal ectasia), severe dry eye related to graft-versus-host-disease (tear film dysfunction and ocular inflammatory condition) and pterygium (conjunctival fibrovascular degenerative disease).MethodsTear samples were collected from patients of each condition and a control group. By using mass spectrometric analysis combined with statistics and bioinformatics tools, a detailed comparison of protein profile was performed.ResultsAfter Student’s t-test analyses comparing each condition to the control group, we found the following number of differentially expressed proteins: 7 in keratoconus group, 29 in pterygium group, and 79 in GVHD group. Following multivariate analyses, we also report potential candidates as biomarkers for each disease.ConclusionsWe demonstrated herein that mass spectrometry-based proteomics was able to indicate proteins that differentiate three distinct ocular conditions, which is a promising tool for the diagnosis of ocular diseases.
Highlights
Diseases of the anterior segment of the eye may present different mechanisms, intensity of symptoms, and impact on the patients’ quality of life and vision
Three distinct ocular conditions were chosen for the tear proteomic comparison: keratoconus, severe dry eye related to graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), and pterygium
Dry Eye Disease (DED) is a common, complex and multifactorial disease of the ocular surface and tear film that results in discomfort and visual disturbance [14]
Summary
Diseases of the anterior segment of the eye may present different mechanisms, intensity of symptoms, and impact on the patients’ quality of life and vision. This study aimed to evaluate tear proteomic profile in 3 distinct ocular diseases: keratoconus (corneal ectasia), severe dry eye related to graft-versus-host-disease (tear film dysfunction and ocular inflammatory condition) and pterygium (conjunctival fibrovascular degenerative disease). Three distinct ocular conditions were chosen for the tear proteomic comparison: keratoconus, severe dry eye related to graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), and pterygium. Dry Eye Disease (DED) is a common, complex and multifactorial disease of the ocular surface and tear film that results in discomfort and visual disturbance [14]. Severe forms such as seen in chronic GVHD are a major complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation and can lead to significant morbidity [15]. Pterygium is an ocular surface disorder with a higher incidence in tropical climates, consisting of a non-neoplastic elastotic degeneration of the bulbar conjunctiva that extends to the corneal surface, and is mainly associated to long-term ultraviolet radiation exposure [16]
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