Differential Expression of Tear Lymphotoxin-Α, Immunoglobulin E, and Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 in Allergic Conjunctivitis-Associated Dry Eye

作者：Xiting Jiao, Ning Gao, Dan Wang, Emmanuel Eric Pazo, Yuanyuan Qi, Y. Ma, Chen Zhang, Ruibo Yang · 发表于：Current Eye Research · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1080/02713683.2025.2549298 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Ocular Surface and Contact Lens、Corneal Surgery and Treatments、Ocular Infections and Treatments

Purpose To evaluate the expression differences of tear lymphotoxin-α (LT-α), total immunoglobulin E (IgE), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in seasonal/perennial allergic conjunctivitis-associated dry eye (S/PAC-DE) and their clinical relevance, probing the underlying pathogenesis of S/PAC-DE.Methods This study enrolled 37 S/PAC-DE patients, 23 dry eye (DE) patients, and 24 healthy controls (HC). Assessing the clinical parameters, tear LT-α, total IgE, MMP-9, and nine other inflammatory cytokines in the three groups. Correlations between tear cytokines and clinical parameters were also analyzed.Results Tear LT-α levels were significantly lower in S/PAC-DE compared to DE and HC groups. Tear total IgE, TNF-α, and MMP-9 levels were significantly upregulated in the S/PAC-DE group than those in the DE (all p < 0.001) and HC groups (p = 0.005, p < 0.001, and p = 0.048). In the S/PAC-DE group, total IgE was positively correlated with MMP-9 (r = 0.652, p = 0.008). Total IgE and LT-α were positively correlated in the DE group (r = 0.498, p = 0.016), while the two showed a negative correlation trend in the S/PAC-DE group (r=-0.272, p = 0.103). LT-α was positively correlated with tear film break-up time and negatively correlated with corneal fluorescein staining score in both the S/PAC-DE and DE groups.Conclusions In the S/PAC-DE co-morbid state, the inhibition of tear LT-α expression and the upregulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines total IgE, TNF-α, and MMP-9 may collective...