Malfeito, MercedesRegueiro, Uxía Pérez Mato, MaríaCampos, FranciscoSobrino, TomásLema Gesto, María Isabel2026-02-032026-02-032019Malfeito M, Regueiro U, Pérez-Mato M, Campos F, Sobrino T, Lema I. Innate Immunity Biomarkers for Early Detection of Keratoconus. Ocul Immunol Inflamm. 2019;27(6):942-948. doi:10.1080/09273948.2018.1511813https://hdl.handle.net/10347/45635This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Ocular Immunology and Inflammation, Volume 27, 2019 - Issue 6, available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09273948.2018.1511813Purpose: To compare toll-like receptors 2 (TLR2) and 4 (TLR4) expression in cells of corneal and conjunctival epithelium between unilateral KC patients and control subjects. Methods: Prospective cross-sectional case-control study, including 50 unilateral KC patients and 20 control subjects. TLR2 and TLR4 expression was measured with flow cytometry. Results: Mean expression of TLR2 and TLR4, in corneal and conjunctival cells, was significantly higher in KC than in subclinical and control groups (all p < 0.0001). TLR2 expression in corneal epithelial cells can predict with the highest sensitivity and specificity the probability of KC existence compared to a control (area under the curve 0.995, 95% CI: 0.987–1.000; p < 0.0001). Corneal TLR2 expression also has a predictive capacity to discriminate between subclinical KC and controls (area under the curve 0.989, 95% CI: 0.975–1.000; p < 0.0001). Conclusions: TLR2 and TLR4 expression in corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells may constitute predictive biomarkers for the early detection of KC.engAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/BiomarkersInnate immunityToll-like receptor 2Toll-like receptor 4Unilateral keratoconusjournal article10.1080/09273948.2018.15118131744-5078open access