Abstract
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.
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Acknowledgement
This work is supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists, 18791259 (2006-2008), Japan.
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Kaji, Y., Hiraoka, T. & Oshika, T. Increased level of (1,3)-β-D-glucan in tear fluid of mycotic keratitis. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 247, 989–992 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-008-1032-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-008-1032-z