Project Details
Projekt
Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca: The importance of protein glycosylation for tear film stability
Subject Area
Ophthalmology
Term
from 2019 to 2023
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 406073788
Dry Eye Disease, also known as Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (KCS), is defined as a multifactorial disease of the tear film and ocular surface. Its symptoms include visual disturbance, tear film instability accompanied by morphological changes and inflammation of the ocular surface. Suspected causes range from tear film deficiency and changes in tear film composition to an involvement of the immune system. The involvement of various factors from the tear film shows the heterogenic character of the disease. Thus, changes in the lipid layer, as well as differential protein compositions might be causative. Appropriate therapies are urgently needed but yet missing. Glycosylation patterns of tear film proteins are altered in Dry Eye patients. These influence protein structure and stability and accordingly the protein binding properties. Furthermore, they play an important role in molecular processes, e.g. protein-lipid interactions. The primary goal of our project is to improve understanding of the relevance of protein-glycosylation for tear film stability and for Dry Eye pathogenesis. We will investigate quantitative and qualitative glycoproteomic differences between Dry Eye patients and healthy subjects. To that end we will investigate which proteins show altered glycosylation patterns, what role these proteins play for the function of the tear film and how glycosylation influences the integrity of the tear film. Moreover, we want to use potential protein glycosylation patterns to distinguish between different Dry Eye subtypes and degrees of severety. Furthermore, we will investigate how glycosylation patterns of tear film proteins influence lipid interactions. Our project aims at analysing glycosylation patterns and their influence on the integrity of the tear film. This will help to better understand Dry Eye pathogenesis and improve diagnostics and in the long run even therapy of Dry Eye.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
