Eotaxin-1expression in tears of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy

Abstract Purpose To explore changes of Eotaxin-1concentration in tears of thyroid associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) patients Methods This prospective observational study.16 patients with TAO (32 eyes) and 18 healthy volunteers (36 eyes) were recruited.TAO patients were divided into active TAO (16eyes) and inactive TAO derived from the active TAO patients after corticosteroid treatment(16eyes).The tear concentration of Eotaxin-1 was measured per ELISA assay. Eotaxin-1protein expression was evaluated per Western Blot . Results The highest Eotaxin-1 concentration in tears was in inactive TAO patients, followed by patients with active TAO and the controls per ELISA. Western Blot analysis indicated that Eotaxin-1 expression in inactive TAO was also higher than in active TAO and the controls. Conclusion The changes of Eotaxin-1 expression in tears of patients with active and inactive TAO suggested that orbital inflammation may be involved in the ocular surface damage of TAO.