I am detecting antibodies from tear samples. Although the antibody levels are signficantly lower than those from the corresponding serum samples, the noise of tear samples is much lower. I am wondering if anybody has done or is doing experiments with tear samples.
I used to analyze MMPs in tears using Elisa.
Antibody levels pretty much depend on what type of tears you analyze (basal or reflex tears) and how they were collected (schirmers strips or capillary tube).
Certainly most antibodies are found a lot lower concentrations in tears as compared to serum, which is why you need to load a higher amount of total protein content into your analysis system. Some antibodies also show diurnal variation, meaning the concentration could be higher or lower depending on the time of day collected.
Hi Jiafen
I used to collect a variety of tears: basal, reflex, closed eye and eye-flush tears. It was easiest to collect eye-flush. A certain amount of sterile saline (20 to 60ul) is instilled into the eye. This helps in conditions such as dry eye to get a sample. The protein concentrations are a lot lower due to the dilution.
As we close our eyes during the night, you can find an accumulation of inflammatory tears in closed eye tears collected just after eye opening. You may not really be more susceptible to infection as the ocular surface has a good defense system. however, if there is a lesion the story is different.
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