TY - JOUR
T1 - Gonadotropins in keratoconus
T2 - The unexpected suspects
AU - Karamichos, Dimitrios
AU - Barrientez, Brayden
AU - Nicholas, Sarah
AU - Ma, Symon
AU - Van, Lyly
AU - Bak-Nielsen, Sashia
AU - Hjortdal, Jesper
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2019/12
Y1 - 2019/12
N2 - Keratoconus (KC) is the most common ectatic corneal disease with a significant visual acuity burden. The actual burden is intangible given that KC can disrupt daily activities (reading, driving, and various career paths). Despite decades of research and clinical studies, the etiology, onset, and pathobiology of KC remain a mystery. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of gonadotropins in KC. We recruited 86 KC patients (63 males, 23 female), and 45 healthy controls (22 male, 23 female). Plasma samples were collected and analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Corneal stromal cells from KC and healthy controls, and human epithelial corneal cells, were also investigated for gonadotropin-related markers. Our results show significant alterations of LH/FSH in KCs, compared to healthy controls. Our data also reveals, for the first time, the existence of gonadotropins and their receptors in KC. Our study is the first to demonstrate the role of LH/FSH in KCs, and expand the list of organs known to express gonadotropins, or their receptors, to include the human cornea. Our findings suggest that the human cornea is capable of responding to gonadotropins, and propose an intriguing mechanism for the onset and/or progression of KC.
AB - Keratoconus (KC) is the most common ectatic corneal disease with a significant visual acuity burden. The actual burden is intangible given that KC can disrupt daily activities (reading, driving, and various career paths). Despite decades of research and clinical studies, the etiology, onset, and pathobiology of KC remain a mystery. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of gonadotropins in KC. We recruited 86 KC patients (63 males, 23 female), and 45 healthy controls (22 male, 23 female). Plasma samples were collected and analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Corneal stromal cells from KC and healthy controls, and human epithelial corneal cells, were also investigated for gonadotropin-related markers. Our results show significant alterations of LH/FSH in KCs, compared to healthy controls. Our data also reveals, for the first time, the existence of gonadotropins and their receptors in KC. Our study is the first to demonstrate the role of LH/FSH in KCs, and expand the list of organs known to express gonadotropins, or their receptors, to include the human cornea. Our findings suggest that the human cornea is capable of responding to gonadotropins, and propose an intriguing mechanism for the onset and/or progression of KC.
KW - Corneal dystrophy
KW - Gonadotropins
KW - Hormonal imbalance
KW - Keratoconus
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091469578&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/cells8121494
DO - 10.3390/cells8121494
M3 - Article
C2 - 31766771
AN - SCOPUS:85091469578
SN - 2073-4409
VL - 8
JO - Cells
JF - Cells
IS - 12
M1 - 1494
ER -