Interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α levels in tear film of Keratoconus patients

Alireza Peyman; Mohammad Namgar; Awat Feizi; Mazdak Ganjalikhani Hakemi; Fahimeh Hosseini Nasab; Mohsen Pourazizi

doi:10.4103/jrms.jrms_35_21

Interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α levels in tear film of Keratoconus patients

J Res Med Sci. 2021 Sep 30:26:75. doi: 10.4103/jrms.jrms_35_21. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Alireza Peyman¹, Mohammad Namgar¹, Awat Feizi², Mazdak Ganjalikhani Hakemi³, Fahimeh Hosseini Nasab³, Mohsen Pourazizi¹

Affiliations

¹ Isfahan Eye Research Center, Department of Ophthalmology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
² Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
³ Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

Background: It is hypothesized that increased inflammatory markers in keratoconus (KC) may be one of the causes of corneal damage. The aim of our study was to the measurement of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL)-6 in tear of patients with KC and investigate their relationship with the severity of KC.

Materials and methods: The current study was performed on KC patients and healthy controls with a case-control setting. Tear levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were measured after collecting the tears from the tear lake using a filter paper via Schirmer I method without anesthesia.

Results: Eighty-one KC patients (mean age 29.45 ± 5.06 years) and 85 controls (mean age 28.01 ± 5.14 years) were enrolled. The mean levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were 26.77 ± 8.16, and 34.58 ± 9.82 pg/ml in the healthy group and 103.22 ± 51.94, and 183.76 ± 54.61 pg/ml in the KC group, respectively (P < 0.001). There was a significant relationship between the severity of the KC and the mean levels of IL-6 TNF-α in the case group (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: Our results indicated that the mean levels of IL-6 and TNF-α are significantly higher in KC than the healthy group, and the disease severity was significantly associated with TNF-α and IL-6.

Keywords: Inflammation; interleukin; keratoconus; tumor necrosis factor.