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Advanced glycation end-products in corneas of patients with keratoconus
Jens Dawczynski1, Sibylle Franke, Marcus Blum
1Department of Ophthalmology, Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Bachstrasse 18, 07740 Jena, Germany. jens.dawczynski@med.uni-jena.de
Background:
Keratoconus remains a poorly understood yet widespread disease which poses a potential threat to human vision. The underlying mechanisms are still not clear. One possible pathway is increased formation and accumulation of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) in the cornea.
Methods:
Corneas obtained from six patients with keratoconus and from six healthy controls were investigated. An immunohistochemical localisation of the well-known AGE N(epsilon)-carboxymethyllysine (CML) was performed using a polyclonal anti-CML antibody.
Results:
In the corneas of all six patients with keratoconus, CML immunoreactivity was found in the epithelial as well as in the endothelial cells. The keratocytes also showed a positive reaction. The controls, in contrast, showed very little or no immunoreactivity.
Conclusion:
In the epithelial, stromal and endothelial cells of corneas with keratoconus an accumulation of CML was detected which might play a role in the pathogenesis of keratoconus.