Signaling lipids as diagnostic biomarkers for ocular surface cicatrizing conjunctivitis

• DOI: 10.1007/s00109-020-01907-w
• Publication Date: 2020-04-20T18:03:18Z
• Authors: Antonio Di Zazzo; Wei Yang; Marco Coassin; Alessandra Micera; Marco Antonini; Fabrizio Piccinni; Maria De Piano; Isabelle Kohler; Amy C. Harms; Thomas Hankemeier; Stefano Boinini; Alireza Mashaghi
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Mucous membrane pemphigoid; Biopsy; Signaling lipid mediators; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Severity of Illness Index; Cicatrix; 03 medical and health sciences; SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being; Humans; Metabolomics; LC-MS/MS; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; 0303 health sciences; Cicatrizing conjunctivitis; Middle Aged; Conjunctivitis; Lipid Metabolism; Lipids; 3. Good health; Case-Control Studies; Metabolome; Original Article; Female; Biomarkers; Signal Transduction

Abstract Metabolomics has been applied to diagnose diseases, predict disease progression, and design therapeutic strategies in various areas of medicine. However, it remains to be applied to the ocular surface diseases, where biological samples are often of limited quantities. We successfully performed proof-of-concept metabolomics assessment of volume-limited cytology samples from a clinical form of chronic inflammatory cicatrizing conjunctivitis, i.e., ocular MMP and discovered metabolic changes of signaling lipid mediators upon disease onset and progression. The metabolomics assessment revealed active oxylipins, lysophospholipids, fatty acids, and endocannabinoids alterations, from which potential biomarkers linked to inflammatory processes were identified. Possible underlying mechanisms such as dysregulated enzyme activities (e.g., lipoxygenases, cytochrome P450, and phospholipases) were suggested which may be considered as potential therapeutic targets in future studies.

Key messages

Metabolic profile of the ocular surface can be measured using impression cytology samples.

Metabolomics analysis of ocular pemphigoid is presented for the first time.

The metabolomics assessment of OCP patients revealed active oxylipins, lysophospholipids, fatty acids, and endocannabinoids alterations.

Several oxylipins are identified as diagnostic biomarkers for OCP.