Morphological Changes in the Lacrimal Gland of Anophthalmic Socket in Relation to the Contralateral Normal Eye in Male Wistar Albino Rats: A Histopathology Study

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyze the structural and functional alterations of the lacrimal gland and its tear secretion post-enucleation in Wistar rats.Method: Adult male Wistar rats (n = 15) of 8-week-old were randomly assigned into three groups viz. control, sham, and experimental group (n = 5). Rats of the experimental group were subjected to enucleation of the right eye. Under aseptic surgical conditions, with sterilized forceps, right eyeball of the rats of experimental group was exposed completely out of the socket by applying pressure on the lateral canthus of the eye. Enucleation was then achieved after holding the optic nerve tightly. The surgical procedure was similar in sham group without enucleation. Quantity of tears (Basal and reflex) secreted in both eyes in rats of all groups were measured by using Schirmer's strip, pre- and post-three weeks of enucleation. The lacrimal gland was harvested to analyze histopathological (structural) alterations.Results: Pr- and post-enucleation there was no significant difference observed in the tear volume across the groups. Histopathology of the lacrimal glands from all groups showed preserved lobular architecture with serous acini arranged in lobules, intralobular and interlobular ducts, interstitial fibro collagenous tissue. There was no glandular distortion and atrophy in experimental group.Conclusion: Enucleation do not co-relate or affect the tear volume and lacrimal gland acinar microstructural changes in an anophthalmic socket co-relating to the contralateral normal functional eye.

Levels of lactoferrin, lysozyme and albumin in the tear film of keratoconus patients and their correlations with important parameters of the disease

Background: Despite the fact that keratoconus has been tipically defined as a noninflammatory condition, recent research has promoted the role of inflammatory factors and protein changes of tear film in disease progression.

Aims: to determine the level of serum albumin, lactoferrin and lyzozyme in tears of keratoconic patients and their correlations with corneal biomechanical properties.

Subjects and methods: 16 eyes of keratoconus patients and 14 eyes of control cases were enrolled in an observational prospective study. We performed a complete ophthalmological examination on all participants. In order to determine the concentration of tear film proteins, a minimum of 20 microlitres of tears from the lower conjunctival fornix were collected from each subject and measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis.

Results: The level of lactoferrin measured in the tear film was significantly decreased in the keratoconus group compared to the normal subjects in all cases (p<0.05). We also found an increased level of lyzozyme and albumin in the keratoconus patients when compared to the controls, only the lyzozyme beeing statistically significant. In the keratoconus group, the correlations between proteins and important parameters such as keratometry, pachymetry and corneal biomechanics were statistically relevant in our study.

Conclusions: We can state that the protein composition of tears is modified in keratoconus by increased levels of protein with inflammatory properties such as albumin or by decreased levels of protein with anti-inflammatory properties such as lactoferrin.

Presence of Histatin-1 in Human Tears and Association with Aqueous Deficient Dry Eye Diagnosis: A Preliminary Study

The aims of this study were to determine if histatin-1 (H1) is present in normal human tears and whether tear levels of H1 varied between normal patients and those with aqueous deficient dry eye disease (ADDE). Patient samples were obtained from 11 normal patients and 11 severe ADDE patients. Relevant patient characteristics, including age, sex, and dry eye disease (DED) diagnostic parameters were collected. Multiple qualitative and quantitative methods were used to compare the concentration of H1 between patient groups. Mixed linear modeling was used to compare H1 levels between groups, and diagnostic performance was assessed using the receiver-operator-characteristic (ROC). ADDE patients had significantly lower H1 concentrations (85.9 ± 63.7 ng/ml) than the normal group (891.6 ± 196.5 ng/ml) (p < 0.001), while controlling for age and sex. ROC analysis indicated that H1 concentration is potentially a biomarker for ADDE (area under curve = 0.96). Reclassification of patients by DED parameters including, Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) (≤13, >13) and Schirmer I (without anesthesia) (<10 mm, ≥10 mm) showed significant differences in H1 level (OSDI, p = 0.004) and Schirmer I ((p = 0.010). In conclusion, this is the first preliminary report of the presence of H1 in human tears. H1 concentrations are lower in ADDE patients and H1 may have diagnostic potential in evaluation ADDE patients.