Effect of external ocular surgery and mode of post-operative care on plasminogen, plasmin, angiostatins and α2-macroglobulin in tears

M. Lembach, C. Linenberg, S. Sathe, A. Beaton, O. Ucakhan, P. Asbell, R. Sack

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose. To determine whether corneal surgery and the mode of post-surgical treatment influence the distribution of plas-minogen, plasmin, angiostatins and α2-macrogobulin in tear fluid. Methods. Subjects underwent either photorefractive keratec-tomy (PRK), insertion of intra-stromal corneal rings (ICR), or cataract ablation followed by insertion of an intra-ocular lens (IOL). Post-surgical treatment consisted of prophylactic use of antibiotic and anti-inflammatory agents followed either by patching for 24 hours, or covering the wounded cornea with a bandage soft contact lens. Open eye tear fluid (OTF) was obtained prior to surgery and 10 minutes after patch removal or 24 hours after surgery and thereafter with the bandage lens still in place. After centrifugation, supernatants and controls were western blot analyzed using a protocol designed to allow the simultaneous semi- quantitative detection of α2-macroglobulin, plasminogen, plasmin, angiostatins and interleukin-8 (IL-8). Results. No obvious differences were apparent in OTF recovered from contralateral control eyes compared to the surgical eyes in individuals who underwent PRK surgery and whose eyes were covered with a bandage contact lens. In contrast, OTF samples recovered 10 minutes after patch removal from all individuals contained elevated levels of α2-macroglobulin and a diverse mixture of elevated levels of plasminogen/plasmin, angiostatins and possibly a plasmin- α1-antiplasmin complex. All of these changes were seen, albeit to a lesser extent, in the patched control OTF samples. IL-8 could not be detected in any sample. The composition of the tear film returned to near normal on subsequent sampling 24 hours after patch removal. Conclusions. Patching results in a marked increase in the concentration of various proteins which could modulate inflammation and wound healing.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)286-294
Number of pages9
JournalCurrent Eye Research
Volume22
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Angiostatins
  • Post-operative care
  • Refractive surgery
  • Tears
  • α-macroglobulin

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