Increased level of (1,3)-beta-D-glucan in tear fluid of mycotic keratitis.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Increased concentration of (1,3)-beta-D-glucan, one of the major components of fungal cell walls, is detected in the serum of systemic fungal infection. In our study, the concentration of (1,3)-beta-D-glucan was measured in the tear fluid of patients with mycotic keratitis. METHODS: Tear fluid was collected from patients with fungal keratitis (n = 4) and bacterial corneal ulcers (n = 4) with or without corneal scraping. In addition, tear fluid was collected from patients without corneal diseases. RESULTS: The concentration of (1,3)-beta-D-glucan in tear fluid collected without corneal scraping was 4.0 +/- 3.5, 5.8 +/- 2.6, 184 +/- 128 pg/ml in the control, bacterial corneal ulcer, and mycotic keratitis samples respectively. The concentration of (1,3)-beta-D-glucan in tear fluid collected after scraping the corneal lesions with a tip of glass capillary was 4.4 +/- 1.3, 8.2 +/- 5.2 and >1,000 pg/ml in the control, bacterial ulcer, and mycotic keratitis samples respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A significant increase in (1,3)-beta-D-glucan was detected in tear samples from patients with mycotic keratitis. Measuring the concentration of (1,3)-beta-D-glucan in tear fluid might be helpful in the diagnosis of mycotic keratitis.