ArticleOphthalmic research2026
Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Isoform Imbalance Is Associated with Innate Inflammation and Corneal Epitheliopathy in Dry Eye Disease.
Article in Ophthalmic research, 2026. 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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Abstract
introductionTear-deficient dry eye disease (DED), including Sjögren's syndrome and ocular graft-versus-host disease (oGVHD), is often refractory to therapy. We tested whether platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) isoform imbalance, quantified as a PDGF-AB/BB: PDGF-AA ratio ("PDGF Ratio"), is associated with innate activation and corneal epitheliopathy.
methodsTear samples from 151 participants were profiled across two independent assay runs: discovery (n = 79) and replication (n = 72). Data were harmonized as within-plate rank percentiles. Plate-adjusted mediation tested whether the PDGF Ratio mediated associations between tear-deficient status and an innate NF-κB composite (IL-18/IL-6/IL-8/TNF-α) and National Eye Institute (NEI) scale graded corneal staining. A parallel model for staining included Schirmer scores to distinguish trophic from aqueous volume deficiency.
resultsThe PDGF Ratio differed significantly across diagnostic groups (Kruskal-Wallis p < 0.001), driven by concurrent PDGF-AA depletion (median rank 0.69 healthy vs. 0.19 oGVHD) and PDGF-AB/BB enrichment (0.18 vs. 0.62; both p < 0.001). High ratio co-occurred with higher innate cytokine ranks and lower EGF and IFN-γ. In pooled mediation, the ratio accounted for 62.8% of the tear-deficient association with innate inflammation (indirect 0.168; 95% CI 0.118-0.225) and 34.2% of the association with corneal staining (indirect 0.117; 95% CI 0.055-0.190). The staining pathway remained significant after accounting for Schirmer (indirect 0.113; 95% CI 0.050-0.185).
conclusionTear-deficient DED exhibits a reproducible PDGF isoform imbalance that statistically accounts for substantial portions of innate activation and corneal staining. These findings support the PDGF Ratio as a coherent candidate biomarker and therapeutic axis for isoform-selective rebalancing.
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