Detection of interleukin-1 beta in the tear fluid of patients with corneal disease with or without conjunctival involvement.

To investigate the role of Interleukin-1 (IL-1) in the pathobiology of the cornea, we measured IL-1 beta concentration in tear fluid samples from patients with corneal disease. Twenty patients with unilateral corneal disease were included in the study. Tear fluid samples were collected during the active stages of the disease and following resolution. The fellow (unaffected) eyes served as controls. The concentration of IL-1 beta in the tear fluid samples was measured using a sandwich ELISA method. IL-1 beta was detected in tear fluid from five eyes (three eyes with chemical burns, one with a Pseudomonas aeruginosa corneal ulcer, and one with a peripheral corneal ulcer) at concentrations between 29 and 218 pg/mL. IL-1 beta was not detected in tear fluid from the remaining 15 affected eyes, nor from the control eyes. The detection of IL-1 beta in tear fluid correlated with limbal conjunctival involvement, but did not correlate with the type of disease, size of epithelial defect, or degree of stromal involvement. IL-1 beta in the tear fluid may be one of the factors modifying the complex inflammatory process of the anterior ocular surface.