Study of manifestations of dry eye and TGF-β expression after ocular alkali burn

Objective To investigate the manifestation of dry eye and TGF-β expression in patients after ocular alkali burns. Methods This is a case-control study. Total of 33 eyes of 26 cases with alkali burns of I-IV degrees from Jan.2017 to Jun.2018 in this hospital were selected as observation group, and 10 eyes of 10 cases of normal people were selected as control group. The followed-up time was 3 months. The visual acuity, intraocular pressure, BUT, SchirmerⅠtest, lacrimal rivus height and corneal thickness were observed at 1 day, 1 and 3 months after ocular alkali burn. The protein expression of TGF-β1 and TGF-β2 were examined with western-blot analysis. Results BUT and Schirmer I test in the observation group were lower than those in the control group at 3 months after ocular alkali burn (P<0.05). The corneal thickness and the lacrimal rivus height at each time after ocular alkali burn were higher than those in the control group(P<0.05). The protein expressions of TGF-β1 and TGF-β2 were significantly negatively correlated with BUT(P=0.046, 0.036), and TGF-β2 was significantly positively correlated with corneal thickness (P=0.024). Conclusion Ocular alkali burns can cause dry eye, and the expressions of TGF-β1 and TGF-β2 in tears may be related to the occurrence of dry eye after ocular alkali burn. Key words: Burn, alkali, ocular; Dry eye; OCT; TGF-β1; TGF-β2