Tear proteomics in keratoconus

[摘要] Purpose: The purpose of this work was toidentify potential tear-film based proteins expressed in keratoconus. Methods: Recruited subjects were normalgas permeable (GP) contact lens wearers, keratoconus subjects wearingGP contact lenses, and keratoconus subjects without contact lenses.Subjects wearing soft lenses or having previous ocular surgeries wereexcluded from participating. Approximately 5 µl of tears were sampledfrom both eye of each subject using glass microcapillaries. Additionaltesting included a brief history, visual acuity, slit lamp examination,and topography. Proteomic analyses used to compare samples includedBradford assays, cytokine arrays, SDS–PAGE, and mass spectrometry. Results: Forty-four subjects wereenrolled in the study including 20 normals (GP wearers), 18 withkeratoconus and wearing GPs, and six with keratoconus (non-lenswearers). Across all proteomic approaches, several proteins wereidentified as possibly being unique to keratoconus. Increasedexpression of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) was found inkeratoconus subjects with and without gas permeable contact lenses(p=0.02). Unique proteins more associated with keratoconus includedseveral keratins, immunoglobulins alpha and kappa, precursors toprolactin, lysozyme C, and lipocalin. Conclusions: Initial analyses indicatethat keratoconus may be associated with the differential expression ofseveral proteins. Further testing is needed to determine any causalrelationship or correlation with the etiology of this condition.

[学科分类] 生物化学/生物物理