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Group II PLA(2) content of tears in normal subjects
K M Saari1, V Aho, V Paavilainen
1Department of Ophthalmology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. matti.saari@tyks.fi
Purpose:
To determine the concentration of group II phospholipase (PL) A(2), an antimicrobial molecule, in tears of normal subjects in different age and sex groups.
Methods:
PLA(2) content of tears was measured in 122 healthy volunteers with ages ranging from 20 to 89 years (mean, 49.5 years) by a time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay using a polyclonal rabbit antibody to recombinant human PLA(2).
Results:
The mean concentration of PLA(2) in tears was 54.5 +/- 33.9 microg/ml. It was highest in the age group 20 to 29 years (81.6 +/- 32.0 microg/ml), and a decrease of concentration occurred with an increase of age. PLA(2) values were statistically significantly lower in the age group 60 to 69 years (P = 0.0013) and 70 years or more (P = 0.0001) than in the age group 20 to 29 years. There were no statistically significant differences in PLA(2) content of tears between the genders in any age group (P = 0.798).
Conclusions:
The results indicate that tears contain a high concentration of PLA(2) and that PLA(2) levels decrease with an increase of age and/or reflex tear component of the sample analyzed.
