Integrated Analysis of Transcriptome and Proteome of the Human Cornea and Aqueous Humor Reveal Novel Biomarkers for Corneal Endothelial Cell Dysfunction.

Earlier studies have reported that elevated protein levels in the aqueous humor (AH) are associated with corneal endothelial cell dysfunction (CECD), but the details of the underlying mechanism as well as specific biomarkers for CECD remain elusive. In the present study, we aimed to identify protein markers in AH directly associated with changes to corneal endothelial cells (CECs), as AH can be easily obtained for analysis. We carried out an in-depth proteomic analysis of patient-derived AH as well as transcriptomic analysis of CECs from the same patients with bullous keratopathy (BK) resulting from CECD. We first determined differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) from CECs and AH in CECD, respectively. By combining transcriptomic and proteomic analyses, 13 shared upregulated markers and 22 shared downregulated markers were observed between DEGs and DEPs. Among these 35 candidates from biomarker profiling, three upregulated markers were finally verified via data-independent acquisition (DIA) proteomic analysis using additional individual AH samples, namely metallopeptidase inhibitor 1 (TIMP1), Fc fragment of IgG binding protein (FCGBP), and angiopoietin-related protein 7 (ANGPTL7). Furthermore, we confirmed these AH biomarkers for CECD using individual immunoassay validation. Conclusively, our findings may provide valuable insights into the disease process and identify biofluid markers for the assessment of CEC function during BK development.

Analysis of Korean Retinal Specialists' Opinions on Implanting Diffractive Multifocal Intraocular Lenses in Eyes with Underlying Retinal Diseases.

Multifocal intraocular lenses (MF-IOLs) are increasingly implanted as the need for good near- and intermediate-distance vision increases. Although retinal disease is known to be a relative contraindication for MF-IOL implantation, there are no detailed guidelines for MF-IOL implantation with respect to the type and severity of retinal diseases/statuses. In this study, because retinal diseases can affect the performance of MF-IOLs, we analyzed the opinions of 111 retinal specialists, who were members of the Korean Retina Society, on the implantation of diffractive MF-IOLs in eyes with 15 retinal diseases/statuses using a web-based survey. For each underlying condition, retinal specialists were asked to rate their approval regarding implantation of MF-IOLs on a scale from 1 (completely disapprove) to 7 (completely approve), under the assumption that there were no known contraindications except for a given retinal disease/status. As a result, retinal specialists disapproved MF-IOL implantation (median value of Likert score < 4) in the eyes with wet age-related macular degeneration, dry age-related macular degeneration with geographic atrophy, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy with macular edema, previous macula-off retinal detachment, previous retinal vein occlusion, and epiretinal membrane, but the scores varied by disease/status. The factors that affected the specialists' opinions were the type of practice and the frequency of MF-IOL implantation (p = 0.013 and p = 0.021, respectively; one-way ANOVA).

Comparison of Ocular Biometry Using New Swept-source Optical Coherence Tomography-based Optical Biometer with Other Devices.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the agreement between optical biometry with swept-source optical coherence tomography-based optical biometry (IOLMaster 700) and other devices. METHODS: A total of 137 eyes (78 patients) with cataracts were included in this retrospective study. Axial length (AL), anterior chamber depth (ACD), keratometry, and white-to-white (WTW) distance measured using IOLMaster 700 were compared with results for the following five different biometers: IOLMaster 500, A-scan, automated refractor, manual keratometry, and Galilei G4. Differences and correlations among the devices were assessed using the Bland-Altman plot and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: For AL values, the IOLMaster 700, IOLMaster 500, and A-scan measurements showed excellent agreement (all ICC >0.99). For ACD values, ICC of IOLMaster 700 and Galilei G4 was 0.965 but A-scan was poorly correlated with either IOLMaster 700 or Galilei G4. The ICCs of IOLMaster 700 and other devices were all greater than 0.9 for average keratometry, but those of the mean cylinder keratometry were all between 0.7 and 0.8. The mean difference in the WTW distance between the IOLMaster 700 and Galilei G4 was 0.029 mm, but the ICC was 0.525. AL measurements were not possible for 10 eyes with the IOLMaster 500 but were obtained in all eyes with the IOLMaster 700. CONCLUSIONS: In clinical practice, AL, ACD, and average keratometry values of IOLMaster 700 can be used interchangeably with those of the other devices tested. However, the ACD value between IOLMaster 700 and A-scan or the WTW distance between IOLMaster 700 and Galilei G4 are not interchangeable because of clinical and statistical differences in measurements between the devices.