Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38694515›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology2024

Ocular surface immune transcriptome and tear cytokines in corneal infection patients.

Heba Alenezi, Grant Parnell, Stephen Schibeci, Jerome Ozkan, Mark Willcox, Andrew J R White, Nicole Carnt

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.2field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Nigericin Induces Paraptosis-Like Cell Death Instead of Pyroptosis in Corneal Keratocytes.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2025
    Article
  7. Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Heba AleneziDepartment of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences in Al-Kharj, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia.
Grant ParnellCentre for Immunology and Allergy Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Stephen SchibeciCentre for Immunology and Allergy Research, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Jerome OzkanSchool of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Mark WillcoxSchool of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Andrew J R WhiteSchool of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Nicole CarntSchool of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Westmead Institute for Medical Research · AUUniversity of Sydney · AUUNSW Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Microbial keratitis is one of the leading causes of blindness globally. An overactive immune response during an infection can exacerbate damage, causing corneal opacities and vision loss. This study aimed to identify the differentially expressed genes between corneal infection patients and healthy volunteers within the cornea and conjunctiva and elucidate the contributing pathways to these conditions' pathogenesis. Moreover, it compared the corneal and conjunctival transcriptomes in corneal-infected patients to cytokine levels in tears. Methods: Corneal and conjunctival swabs were collected from seven corneal infection patients and three healthy controls under topical anesthesia. RNA from seven corneal infection patients and three healthy volunteers were analyzed by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Tear proteins were extracted from Schirmer strips via acetone precipitation from 38 cases of corneal infection and 14 healthy controls. The cytokines and chemokines IL-1β, IL-6, CXCL8 (IL-8), CX3CL1, IL-10, IL-12 (p70), IL-17A, and IL-23 were measured using an antibody bead assay. Results: A total of 512 genes were found to be differentially expressed in infected corneas compared to healthy corneas, with 508 being upregulated and four downregulated (fold-change (FC) <-2 or > 2 and adjusted p <0.01). For the conjunctiva, 477 were upregulated, and 3 were downregulated (FC <-3 or ≥ 3 and adjusted p <0.01). There was a significant overlap in cornea and conjunctiva gene expression in patients with corneal infections. The genes were predominantly associated with immune response, regulation of angiogenesis, and apoptotic signaling pathways. The most highly upregulated gene was Conclusions: During corneal infection, many genes were upregulated, with most of them being associated with immune response, regulation of angiogenesis, and apoptotic signaling. The findings may facilitate the development of treatments for corneal infections that can dampen specific aspects of the immune response to reduce scarring and preserve sight.

Indexed as

ConjunctivaCorneaCytokinesKeratitisTearsTranscriptomeAdultAgedFemaleGene Expression ProfilingHumansMaleMiddle AgedCytokinesbacteriaconjunctivacorneal infectiongene expressionkeratitisocular surfacetranscriptome

Identifiers

PMID38694515
PMCPMC11061372
OpenAlexW4394888086

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.