Abstract | PURPOSE: Mycotic keratitis is a major cause of corneal blindness in India. A proper understanding of the pathogenesis may help in refining the existing treatment. The purpose of this study is to examine the total tear protein profile of fungal keratitis patients, which may have a bearing on pathogenesis and disease progression. METHODS: Tear samples were collected from culture positive fungal keratitis patients. Tears from the uninfected fellow eye and from other healthy individuals served as controls. Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) was used for the separation of fractionated tear proteins, and selected protein spots, which showed differential expressions, were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. Wherever needed, tag sequencing of peptide fragments using post source decay (PSD) was done to confirm the identification. RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: Tears can be used as a clinical source to study the proteomic responses in patients with fungal keratitis. The glutaredoxin-related protein is known to be produced by Aspergillus during oxidative stress conditions, and the presence of this protein in the tears of patients with mycotic keratitis indicates that this pathogen undergoes stress-related gene expression during infection.
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Authors | Sivagnanam Ananthi, Thangavel Chitra, Ramachandran Bini, Namperumalsamy Venkatesh Prajna, Prajna Lalitha, Kuppamuthu Dharmalingam |
Journal | Molecular vision
(Mol Vis)
Vol. 14
Pg. 500-7
(Mar 12 2008)
ISSN: 1090-0535 [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 18385783
(Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
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Chemical References |
- Eye Proteins
- tear proteins
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Topics |
- Aspergillosis
- Chromatography, Liquid
- Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional
- Eye Proteins
(metabolism)
- Fusarium
- Humans
- Keratitis
(metabolism, microbiology)
- Mycoses
- Proteomics
- Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
- Tandem Mass Spectrometry
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