Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Low AQP5 protein in dog third eyelid glands may cause dry eye disease
By Terakado, K et al.·Published in Veterinary pathology·2013·Department of Veterinary Surgery, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Marked depletion of the water-channel protein, AQP5, in the canine nictitating membrane glands might contribute to the development of KCS.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that dogs with keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), a condition that leads to dry eyes, had a significant lack of a protein called AQP5 in their nictitating membrane glands. This protein is important for tear production, and its absence may contribute to the reduced tear secretion seen in KCS. Healthy Beagles showed normal levels of AQP5, but the KCS dogs did not have any detectable AQP5 in their glands. Understanding this connection could help in developing better treatments for dogs suffering from dry eye issues.
People also search for: dog dry eyes treatment · KCS in Beagles · AQP5 protein in dogs · why is my dog’s eye dry · dog eye problems symptoms
Abstract
The objectives of this study were to investigate the normal histological localization of aquaporin (AQP) 5 protein in the lacrimal and nictitating membrane glands and to compare this localization in healthy and keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) dogs. Lacrimal and nictitating membrane glands of 5 healthy Beagles and nictitating membrane glands of 5 KCS dogs (3 Beagles and 2 mongrel dogs: 0-13 years) were used for the present study. The owners of the KCS dogs did not consent to perform biopsies of the lacrimal glands. The localization and distribution of AQP5 protein were investigated by an immunohistochemical technique. In immunohistochemical staining, AQP5 was localized in the apical site of acinar epithelial and ductal epithelial cells from both the lacrimal and nictitating membrane glands in healthy dogs. However, AQP5 was not detected in the 5 KCS dogs. These results for immunohistochemical AQP5 localization might correlate with the deficiency in tear secretion found in KCS dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23160543/