Published in:
01-07-2009 | Cornea
Increased level of (1,3)-β-D-glucan in tear fluid of mycotic keratitis
Published in: Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology | Issue 7/2009
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Purpose
Increased concentration of (1,3)-β-D-glucan, one of the major components of fungal cell walls, is detected in the serum of systemic fungal infection. In our study, the concentration of (1,3)-β-D-glucan was measured in the tear fluid of patients with mycotic keratitis.
Methods
Tear fluid was collected from patients with fungal keratitis (n = 4) and bacterial corneal ulcers (n = 4) with or without corneal scraping. In addition, tear fluid was collected from patients without corneal diseases.
Results
The concentration of (1,3)-β-D-glucan in tear fluid collected without corneal scraping was 4.0 ± 3.5, 5.8 ± 2.6, 184 ± 128 pg/ml in the control, bacterial corneal ulcer, and mycotic keratitis samples respectively. The concentration of (1,3)-β-D-glucan in tear fluid collected after scraping the corneal lesions with a tip of glass capillary was 4.4 ± 1.3, 8.2 ± 5.2 and >1,000 pg/ml in the control, bacterial ulcer, and mycotic keratitis samples respectively.
Conclusions
A significant increase in (1,3)-β-D-glucan was detected in tear samples from patients with mycotic keratitis. Measuring the concentration of (1,3)-β-D-glucan in tear fluid might be helpful in the diagnosis of mycotic keratitis.