Evidence mapPaperPMID 40540260Full record

ArticleInvestigative ophthalmology & visual science2025

Alteration of Tear Metabolomics Profiling in Infants With Retinopathy of Prematurity.

Zixin Fan, Shuo Yang, Xiaofeng Lu, Sifan Zhang, Xianlu Zeng, Lin Lin, Duo Yuan, Jian Zeng, Guoming Zhang

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Article in Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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9 authors.

Zixin FanShenzhen Eye Hospital, Shenzhen Eye Medical Center, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Shuo YangShenzhen Eye Hospital, Shenzhen Eye Medical Center, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Xiaofeng LuShenzhen Eye Hospital, Shenzhen Eye Medical Center, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Sifan ZhangNew York University, New York, New York, United States.
Xianlu ZengShenzhen Eye Hospital, Shenzhen Eye Medical Center, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Lin LinSustech Core Research Facilities, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Duo YuanShenzhen Eye Hospital, Shenzhen Eye Medical Center, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Jian ZengShenzhen Eye Hospital, Shenzhen Eye Medical Center, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Guoming ZhangShenzhen Eye Hospital, Shenzhen Eye Medical Center, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of metabolomic profile in the tears from infants with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and further define noninvasive biomarkers. Methods: This prospective study included 94 eyes from 47 premature infants. Tear samples from 23 infants with ROP (15 treatment-requiring ones [ROP (t)] and 8 non-treatment-requiring ones [ROP (nt)]) and 24 infants without ROP were collected with Schirmer strips after topical anesthesia. Detailed fundus examination upon pupil dilation were conducted, with data on demographics and birth history recorded. Untargeted tear metabolomic analysis based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was performed. Results: Adjusted by sex, postmenstrual age, gestational age, and birth weight, among 145 metabolites quantified, 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, caffeine, and trehalose were identified to be upregulated in the tears from infants with ROP when compared to those from premature infants with non-ROP, whereas uric acid, dihomo-γ-linolenic acid, nootkatone, pyridoxal, ornithine, 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha, adenosine, and tetrahydrocortisol were downregulated (all adjusted false discovery rate [FDR adj] < 0.05). Nine and one dysregulated metabolites were further found in the ROP (t) and ROP (nt) subgroups, respectively. Some of these metabolites exhibited expression levels correlated with postmenstrual age, gestational age, birth weight, and ROP severity in varying degrees. The dysregulated tear metabolites were fundamentally related to vitamin B6, purine, caffeine, arginine, and starch and sucrose metabolism pathways. The 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha obtained the best performance in classifying premature infants with and without ROP (area under the curve [AUC] of 0.893 [range = 0.800-0.986], P < 0.001). Conclusions: Dysregulated tear metabolites in ROP exhibited abundance correlated with severity of the disease and might be noninvasive biomarkers that potentially serve as complementary screening tools.

Indexed as

MetabolomicsRetinopathy of PrematurityTearsBiomarkersChromatography, High Pressure LiquidFemaleGestational AgeHumansInfant, NewbornInfant, PrematureMaleMass SpectrometryProspective StudiesROC CurveBiomarkers

Identifiers

PMID40540260
PMCPMC12184799

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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 Socratic graph.