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Review
. 2019 Aug 1;20(15):3755.
doi: 10.3390/ijms20153755.

Tear Metabolomics in Dry Eye Disease: A Review

Mazyar Yazdani  1   2   3 , Katja Benedikte Prestø Elgstøen  4 , Helge Rootwelt  4 , Aboulghassem Shahdadfar  5 , Øygunn Aass Utheim  6 , Tor Paaske Utheim  7   6   8   9   10   11   12   13   14
Affiliations
Review

Tear Metabolomics in Dry Eye Disease: A Review

Mazyar Yazdani et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial syndrome that can be caused by alteration in the quality or quantity of the precorneal tear film. It is considered one of the most common ocular conditions leading patients to seek eye care. The current method for diagnostic evaluations and follow-up examinations of DED is a combination of clinical signs and symptoms determined by clinical tests and questionnaires, respectively. The application of powerful omics technologies has opened new avenues toward analysis of subjects in health and disease. Metabolomics is a new emerging and complementary research discipline to all modern omics in the comprehensive analysis of biological systems. The identification of distinct metabolites and integrated metabolic profiles in patients can potentially inform clinicians at an early stage or during monitoring of disease progression, enhancing diagnosis, prognosis, and the choice of therapy. In ophthalmology, metabolomics has gained considerable attention over the past decade but very limited such studies have been reported on DED. This paper aims to review the application of tear metabolomics in DED.

Keywords: dry eye disease; metabolomics; ophthalmology; tear.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no competing interests as defined by the International Journal of Molecular Sciences or other interests that might be perceived to influence the interpretation of the article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Four stages of dry eye disease (DED) (from left to right): mild, temporary ocular discomfort; chronic and severe pain with deterioration of visual function. Severe DED (Stages 3 and 4) with bulbar redness; some filaments and multiple corneal wounds (stained with fluorescein).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The interaction between the different layers of a biological system and the central role of metabolites in projecting molecular information as they are the end products of gene, mRNA, and protein activity. The identification of distinct metabolites in patients enhances diagnosis, prognosis, the choice of therapy, and monitoring.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The lacrimal functional unit, responsible for tear secretion, is composed of the ocular surface, main lacrimal gland, and interconnecting innervation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The three-layered structure of the tear film consists of an outer lipid layer at the air surface, an intermediate aqueous layer, and an inner mucus layer on the epithelial surface.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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