Tear Luminex Analysis in Dry Eye Patients

Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze tear inflammatory cytokines of different subclasses of dry eye disease (DED) patients using Luminex technology. Material/Methods: Forty-five DED patients including 20 Sjogren syndrome aqueous tear deficiency (SS-ATD) patients, 20 non-Sjo- gren syndrome aqueous tear deficiency (NSS-ATD) patients, 15 meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) patients, and 15 normal participants were enrolled in this study. Concentrations of 11 inflammatory cytokines in tear samples of study participants were measured by Luminex assay; ELISA assay was further applied for validation. Results: The levels of cytokines were mostly increased (TNF-alpha, IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12P70, IL-13, IFN-gamma, and MIP-1 alpha) in DED patients compared with normal participants. And the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-12P70 were significantly elevated in tears of the patient groups compared to tears of participants in the normal group (P<0.05). Statistical differences were also observed among the patient groups (SS-ATD, NSS-ATD, and MGD) for the level of IL-8 and TNF-alpha. The results of ELISA assay demonstrated the consistence with Luminex assay, confirming the practicality of Luminex technology for the analysis of multiple cytokines in DED patient tears. Conclusions: The levels of inflammatory cytokines were mostly elevated in DED patients, and statistical differences of some cytokines were also found between SS-ATD, NSS-ATD, and MGD groups, suggesting that inflammatory cytokines could be potential supplements for the diagnosis of DED subclasses and therapeutic targets for DED patients.