PURPOSE: To assess cell viability and cell cycle kinetics of the conjunctival epithelium and to identify intraepithelial lymphocyte (IEL) subsets in patients with evaporative-type dry eye disease (ev-DED) caused by meibomian gland dysfunction and in healthy subjects. The effect of topical treatment and correlations between clinical symptoms and signs and epithelial and immune variables were also determined. METHODS: Inferior fornix and tarsal conjunctival cells were collected by brush cytology (BC) from patients with mild to moderate ev-DED (n = 23) before and after 2 months of treatment that included lid hygiene, artificial tears, and a 3-week course of topical unpreserved steroids. Healthy subjects (n = 17) served as controls. Two symptom questionnaires were self-answered, and multiple DED-related clinical tests were performed. Epithelial or immune lineage, IEL subtypes, cell viability, apoptosis, and cell cycle stage of the BC-recovered cells were determined by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Conjunctival cell viability was dramatically decreased in ev-DED patients compared with controls. For both groups, two different cell populations, differentiated by cell size and complexity, were present in the apoptosis assay. After 2 months of treatment, 87% of subjects subjectively improved, CD8 cells increased, and CD4 cells and the CD4/CD8 ratio significantly decreased. The pretreatment and posttreatment proliferative capacity of the conjunctival epithelium was significantly lower in ev-DED patients than in healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: The viability and proliferative capacity of ev-DED patient conjunctival cells were reduced, suggesting a potential role for these parameters as disease biomarkers.
PURPOSE: To assess cell viability and cell cycle kinetics of the conjunctival epithelium and to identify intraepithelial lymphocyte (IEL) subsets in patients with evaporative-type dry eye disease (ev-DED) caused by meibomian gland dysfunction and in healthy subjects. The effect of topical treatment and correlations between clinical symptoms and signs and epithelial and immune variables were also determined. METHODS: Inferior fornix and tarsal conjunctival cells were collected by brush cytology (BC) from patients with mild to moderate ev-DED (n = 23) before and after 2 months of treatment that included lid hygiene, artificial tears, and a 3-week course of topical unpreserved steroids. Healthy subjects (n = 17) served as controls. Two symptom questionnaires were self-answered, and multiple DED-related clinical tests were performed. Epithelial or immune lineage, IEL subtypes, cell viability, apoptosis, and cell cycle stage of the BC-recovered cells were determined by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Conjunctival cell viability was dramatically decreased in ev-DED patients compared with controls. For both groups, two different cell populations, differentiated by cell size and complexity, were present in the apoptosis assay. After 2 months of treatment, 87% of subjects subjectively improved, CD8 cells increased, and CD4 cells and the CD4/CD8 ratio significantly decreased. The pretreatment and posttreatment proliferative capacity of the conjunctival epithelium was significantly lower in ev-DED patients than in healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: The viability and proliferative capacity of ev-DED patient conjunctival cells were reduced, suggesting a potential role for these parameters as disease biomarkers.
Authors: Michael E Stern; Chris S Schaumburg; Karyn F Siemasko; Jianping Gao; Larry A Wheeler; Devin A Grupe; Cintia S De Paiva; Virginia L Calder; Margarita Calonge; Jerry Y Niederkorn; Stephen C Pflugfelder Journal: Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci Date: 2012-04-24 Impact factor: 4.799
Authors: Philipp Eberwein; Susanne Issleib; Daniel Böhringer; Hans Mittelviefhaus; Johannes Schwartzkopff; Juergen Finke; Thomas Reinhard Journal: Mol Vis Date: 2013-07-19 Impact factor: 2.367
Authors: Neeta Khandekar; Mark D P Willcox; Sharon Shih; Peter Simmons; Joseph Vehige; Qian Garrett Journal: Mol Vis Date: 2013-09-19 Impact factor: 2.367