BIOCHEMISTRY AND FUNCTIONALITY OF THE PRE-OCULAR TEAR FILM PROTEINS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE: PROTEOMICS OF OCULAR FLUIDS
This laboratory’s principal work has been in the areas of diurnal changes in the structure, origins and physiological function of the tear film, and changes in host defense mechanisms associated with eye closure. Studies employ a wide range of biochemical techniques to characterize the interactions of tear proteins and their physiological functions. Those areas currently under investigation include characterization of angiogenic inhibitors and activators, proteases and inhibitors in the pre-ocular tear layer in the open and closed eye states, and the functional role in the host defense mechanisms. Recent work has also expanded to include evaluation of tear proteins as potential biomarkers of diabetes and other diseases. Our laboratory has developed protein arrays which are being used to characterize the distribution of low abundance proteins in tears, vitreous, and aqueous humor samples in normal and pathological situations.