Figure 1.
Flow-chart illustrating the different schemes of statistical analysis used in the current study design.
Figure 2.
Preliminary mass spectrometric data of the human meibum.
Single-stage MS profile of human meibum in the (A) positive ion mode and (B) negative ion mode. (C) Representative EIC of selected CE species eluted in the order of increasing hydrophobicity. Insert: EIC (m/z = 369.4) of all cholesteryl ester species present. *Denotes background peak.
Table 1.
Historical overview on the distribution of major lipid classes in human meibum.
Table 2.
Summary of multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions for individual OAHFA species.
Table 3.
Comparison on the distribution of major lipid classes in the human meibum between normal subjects (n = 10) and DTS patients (n = 27).
Figure 3.
Quantitative comparison of lipid profiles between mild (n = 12), moderate (n = 12) and severe (n = 11) categories of DTS patients.
(A) Comparison between total lipid classes. Insert, phospholipids (PC, PE, PG, PI) and sphingolipids (SM, Cer, GluCer, DihexCer). (B–F) Lipid species that were significantly different between the three categories. (B) CE and WE, cholesteryl esters and wax esters; (C) TAG, triacylglycerides; (D) Phospholipids; (E) Sphingolipids; (F) OAHFA, (O-acyl)-ω-hydroxy-fatty acids. ◊ p<0.10, * p<0.05, ** p<0.01.
Figure 4.
Major lipid classes in human meibum.
(A) Overall distribution of major lipid classes in human meibum in normal subjects (n = 10) and DTS patients (n = 27). (B) Comparison on the quantity of major lipid classes between normal subjects (n = 10) and patients (n = 27). Insert, phospholipids (PC, PE, PG, PI) and sphingolipids (SM, Cer, GluCer, DihexCer). ◊ p<0.10, * p<0.05, ** p<0.01.