Purpose:
The aim of this study was to observe the expression of interleukin (IL)-17 and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 in conjunctivochalasis (CCH) and to analyze the correlations between cytokines and the severity of CCH.
Methods:
Serum samples were collected from 22 patients with CCH and 18 normal controls (NCs). The Ocular Surface Disease Index, tear film break-up time, Schirmer I test, and corneal fluorescein staining were used to evaluate the ocular surface signs and symptoms. The concentrations of IL-17, IL-23, and ICAM-1 in serum and cellular supernatants were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and the gene expression levels of cytokines were measured by a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The relationships between serum concentrations of IL-17, IL-23, and ICAM-1 with clinical ocular surface parameters in CCH were analyzed using the Spearman correlation analysis.
Results:
The concentrations of IL-17 and ICAM-1 in serum and cellular supernatants of CCH were significantly higher than those of NCs (all P 0.05). The mRNA expression levels of IL-17 and ICAM-1 in conjunctival fibroblasts of CCH were significantly higher than those of NCs (all P 0.05). Furthermore, the serum concentrations of IL-17 and ICAM-1 were positively correlated with Ocular Surface Disease Index and fluorescein staining (all P