The role of inflammation in pathogenesis of bullous kerathopathy

Abstract

Background. Bullous keratopathy is a chronic steadily progressive disease that leads to a significant decrease in vision and is accompanied by the appearance of a pronounced pain syndrome. Currently, the role of cytokines in the pathogenesis of the disease remains insufficiently studied. The aim of the study was to study the level of proinflammatory cytokines of the lacrimal fluid in bullous keratopathy. Results. There was a statistically significant increase of the level of proinflammatory cytokines in the lacrimal fluid of patients with bullous keratopathy: interleukin (IL) 1β by 3.6 times (p< 0.05) compared with the group of conditionally healthy volunteers (comparison group), IL-6 by 3.8 times (p< 0.05), the level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α– 2.0 times (p< 0.05). Conclusion. The bullous keratopathy is accompanied by a statistically significant increase in the concentration of proinflammatory cytokines in the lacrimal fluid of the diseased eye. The revealed feature of the local immune response in this pathology opens up prospects for new conceptual constructions of the pathogenesis of the bullous keratopathy with the subsequent development of effective methods of treating the disease. Keywords: bullous keratopathy, lacrimal fluid, proinflammatory cytokines, interleukins, inflammation