Objective: In this study, we set out to analyse changes of tear fluid (TF) proteome in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients compared to age-matched controls (AMC) using a high-end mass spectrometry approach.

Background: The diagnosis of PD in early stages is challenging and there is hope to improve diagnostic accuracy by wet biomarkers. TF is an easily accessible body fluid, which reflects pathophysiological changes in systemic and ocular diseases and is already used as biomarker source for several ocular disorders, e.g. dry eye syndrome (DES). We describe here the analysis of tear fluid in patients with PD and AMC.

Methods: Unstimulated TF samples of 36 PD patients and 18 AMC were collected via Schirmer tear test strips from both eyes, analyzed via a Bottom-up liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (BULCMS) workflow followed by functional analysis including protein-protein interaction and cellular component and pathway analysis.

Results: BULCMS analysis identified 571 tear proteins (false discovery rate <1%), whereby 31 proteins were exclusively detected in the PD group and 7 only in the AMC group. Whereas 21 proteins were significantly increased in the PD versus AMC groups, 19 proteins were significantly decreased. Core networks of proteins involved in immune response, lipid metabolism and oxidative stress were distinctly altered in PD patients.

Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first description of the TF proteome of PD patients. Tear protein level alterations suggest the contribution of different disease- related mechanisms in ocular pathology in PD and propose candidate proteins to be validated as potential biomarkers for PD diagnosis.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/proteomic-analysis-of-tear-fluid-reveals-disease-specific-patterns-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/