ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Ophthalmology
This article is part of the Research TopicMolecular Mechanisms and Pathophysiology of Dry Eye Disease and Meibomian Gland DysfunctionView all 7 articles
Alterations in the composition of meibomian gland secretions in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction based on Raman spectroscopy
Provisionally accepted
Shangkun Ou1,2*
Lingli Zhang1
Yiming Wu2,3Dan Yang1Naikun Jiang1Ting Mao1
Xueer Zheng1
Hao Gu1*
Liying Zhang1*- 1Department of Ophthalmology, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China
- 2Xiamen University Xiamen Eye Center, Xiamen, China
- 3University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
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Purpose: To investigate biochemical alterations in meibum from patients with obstructive meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) using Raman spectroscopy, with a focus on lipid saturation, molecular conformation, and lipid–protein composition. Methods: Meibum samples from healthy individuals and MGD patients with obstructive MGD were collected by eyelid expression, smeared onto gold-coated silicon slides, stored at low temperature, and analyzed within 2 hours. Raman band-intensity ratios were used to quantify lipid unsaturation (I1659/I1438, I3013/I2860), lipid molecular conformation (I2888/I2860), and lipid-to-protein balance (I1659/I1161, I3013/I1161). Raman mapping was used to assess spatial distribution of biochemical components. Results: Meibum was lipid-rich in both groups. Ratios associated with lipid unsaturation (I1659/I1438 and I3013/I2860) were significantly lower in MGD samples than in healthy controls, indicating reduced unsaturated lipids. Ratios reflecting lipid-to-protein balance (I1659/I1161 and I3013/I1161) were significantly higher in MGD, suggesting a relative reduction in protein content. The symmetric-to-asymmetric lipid ratio (I2888/I2860) also differed significantly between groups, though with a small absolute effect size. Raman mapping further revealed a heterogeneous spatial distribution of lipids and proteins in MGD meibum. Conclusion: Compared with healthy meibum, MGD meibum exhibits reduced unsaturated lipid content, altered lipid-protein balance, and increased biochemical heterogeneity, accompanied by subtle conformational lipid changes. These findings indicate that both lipid composition and microstructural organization are disrupted in MGD. This study supports the potential of Raman spectroscopy serve as a valuable tool for analyzing meibum composition and detecting pathological changes in MGD.
Keywords: Dry eye disease, Fatty Acids, Lipids, Meibomian gland, Meibomiangland dysfunction, Meibum, protein, Raman spectroscopy
Received: 01 Oct 2025; Accepted: 27 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ou, Zhang, Wu, Yang, Jiang, Mao, Zheng, Gu and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shangkun Ou
Hao Gu
Liying Zhang
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