Tear Metabolome Analysis in Atopic Keratoconjunctivitis

Abstract

Purpose: : In acute exacerbations of atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC) corneal complications that can sometimes lead to severe visual loss can occur. At the same time, atopic diseases are sometimes complicated by potentially blinding complications such as cataract and retinal detachment, however the precise etiology of such disease is still largely unknown. Metabolome analysis has recently become an important systems analysis method in research, however metabolome analysis of tear samples has not yet been reported. We analysed the metabolome profile of tears of patients with AKC to study the mechanism of AKC.

Methods: : 5 patients with AKC with corneal complications, 5 patients with AKC without corneal complications and 5 control subjects were enrolled in this study. Tear samples were collected (30micro litter) from each subject. Metabolome analysis was conducted by capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry and the profiles were compared between the groups.

Results: : γ-carboxyl-L-glutamic acid was significantly lower in AKC with corneal complications compared to the other groups.

Conclusions: : Levels of γ-carboxyl-L-glutamic acid in tears may be associated with the pathogenesis of corneal lesions.

Keywords: conjunctivitis • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: biostatistics/epidemiology methodology • calcium