The analysis of microRNA expression in tears of Kazakh patients with climatic droplet keratopathy in Xinjiang, China

Climatic droplet keratopathy (CDK) is characterized by increased oil-like deposits on the anterior elastic lamina and anterior stromal layer. The pathogenic mechanisms of CDK are poorly understood. Sampling corneal tissue from CDK patients is challenging. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed the microRNA (miRNA) expression profile in tear samples of CDK patients and their putative roles in CDK pathogenesis to identify possible biomarkers. Basal tear fluid samples were collected from the inferior tear meniscus of both eyes using micropipettes (Shengzekanghua, China) from both the CDK and healthy control (N-CDK) groups. miRNAs extracted from tear samples of CDK and control groups were subjected to miRNA sequencing.