Ocular surface immune transcriptome and tear cytokines in corneal infection patients

Microbial keratitis is one of the leading causes of blindness globally. An overactive immune response during an infection can exacerbate damage, causing corneal opacities and vision loss. This study aimed to identify the differentially expressed genes between corneal infection patients and healthy v...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology 2024-04, Vol.14, p.1346821-1346821
Main Authors: Alenezi, Heba, Parnell, Grant, Schibeci, Stephen, Ozkan, Jerome, Willcox, Mark, White, Andrew J R, Carnt, Nicole
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
bacteria
Cellular and Infection Microbiology
conjunctiva
Conjunctiva - immunology
Conjunctiva - metabolism
Cornea - immunology
Cornea - metabolism
corneal infection
Cytokines - genetics
Cytokines - metabolism
Female
Gene Expression Profiling
Humans
keratitis
Keratitis - genetics
Keratitis - immunology
Keratitis - metabolism
Male
Middle Aged
ocular surface
Tears - metabolism
Transcriptome
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Summary:Microbial keratitis is one of the leading causes of blindness globally. An overactive immune response during an infection can exacerbate damage, causing corneal opacities and vision loss. This study aimed to identify the differentially expressed genes between corneal infection patients and healthy volunteers within the cornea and conjunctiva and elucidate the contributing pathways to these conditions' pathogenesis. Moreover, it compared the corneal and conjunctival transcriptomes in corneal-infected patients to cytokine levels in tears. Corneal and conjunctival swabs were collected from seven corneal infection patients and three healthy controls under topical anesthesia. RNA from seven corneal infection patients and three healthy volunteers were analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Tear proteins were extracted from Schirmer strips via acetone precipitation from 38 cases of corneal infection and 14 healthy controls. The cytokines and chemokines IL-1β, IL-6, CXCL8 (IL-8), CX3CL1, IL-10, IL-12 (p70), IL-17A, and IL-23 were measured using an antibody bead assay. A total of 512 genes were found to be differentially expressed in infected corneas compared to healthy corneas, with 508 being upregulated and four downregulated (fold-change (FC) 2 and adjusted p
ISSN:2235-2988
2235-2988
DOI:10.3389/fcimb.2024.1346821