Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: In allergic conjunctivitis, eosinophils are assumed to play a major role in the release of toxic mediators. Since eotaxin is a CC-chemokine and an eosinophil-specific chemoattractant, we aimed to compare eotaxin levels in tears of allergic patients and normal subjects. Methods: Six patients (2 male, 4 female, mean age 40 ± 20 [± SEM] years old) with a history of ocular allergy had symptoms of perennial or seasonal allergic conjunctivitis with multiple papillae. They were compared to six normal subjects (3 male, 3 female, mean age 29 ± 8 years old) with no history of allergy. Around 10 µl of tears were collected with glass capillaries in all subjects and were immediately frozen. Eotaxin levels in tears were measured by ELISA using a purified mouse anti-human eotaxin monoclonal antibody as a capture antibody and a biotinylated mouse anti-human eotaxin monoclonal antibody as a detecting antibody (Becton Dickinson-Pharmingen). Data were compared with the Wilcoxon / Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: Eotaxin concentration in tears of allergic patients ranged between 1620 and 2544 pg/ml, with a mean at 2070 ± 263 [± SEM] pg/ml. In tears of normal subjects, eotaxin concentration ranged between 894 and 1602 pg/ml with a mean at 1193 ± 176 pg/ml (p ≤0.004). Conclusion: Eotaxin concentration in tears appears to be higher in allergic patients compared to normal subjects. Our results suggest that eotaxin may play a role in the recruitment of eosinophils in the eye and that eotaxin level could be a useful marker of ocular allergy in particular in monitoring the response to topical therapy.
Keywords: 380 cytokines/chemokines • 376 cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye • 366 conjunctivitis