DETECTION OF INTERLEUKIN-1-BETA IN THE TEAR FLUID OF PATIENTS WITH CORNEAL DISEASE WITH OR WITHOUT CONJUNCTIVAL INVOLVEMENT

To investigate the role of Interleukin-1 (IL-1) in the pathobiology of the cornea, we measured IL-1 beta concentration in tear fluid samples from patients with corneal disease. Twenty patients with unilateral c orneal disease were included in the study. Tear fluid samples were col lected during the active stages of the disease and following resolutio n. The fellow (unaffected) eyes served as controls. The concentration of IL-1 beta in the tear fluid samples was measured using a sandwich E LISA method. IL-1 beta was detected in tear fluid from five eyes (thre e eyes with chemical burns, one with a Pseudomonas aeruginosa corneal ulcer, and one with a peripheral corneal ulcer) at concentrations betw een 29 and 218 pg/mL. IL-1 beta was not detected in tear fluid from th e remaining 15 affected eyes, nor from the control eyes. The detection of IL-1 beta in tear fluid correlated with limbal conjunctival involv ement, but did not correlate with the type of disease, size of epithel ial defect, or degree of stromal involvement. IL-1 beta in the tear fl uid may be one of the factors modifying the complex inflammatory proce ss of the anterior ocular surface. (C) 1997 Japanese Ophthalmological Society.