ABSTRACT
Tear fluid is a complex body fluid,which may contain thousands of protein/peptides and other molecules.Studies have determined that the changes in the chemical compositions of tears play an important role in some diseases and their progression.Tear fluid is a useful and easily accessible source for understanding ocular surface diseases,other eye diseases,and systemic diseases.It can also be used for identification of biomarkers for clinical applications and pharmaceutical development.Therefore,quantitative proteomic analysis of tears may provide very important information for diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases or the development of new drugs.Knowledge of the current proteomic technologies for tear analysis is helpful for conducting studies.In addition,ophthalmologists should pay close attentions to the association between tear proteomic changes and eye diseases,recent advances in tear proteomics and their applications in studying ocular surface diseases and conditions.