AIM: To explore the expression and clinical significance of chemotactic factor receptor-3(CXCR3)of female patients conjunctival with dry eye at perimenopause.

METHODS: Thirty dry eye case(60 eyes)in the patient at perimenopause of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University and thirty dry eye cases(60 eyes)in patient at non-perimenopause were selected. The conjunctival epithelial cells at perimenopause and non-perimenopause in dry eye cases were obtained by impression cytology methods, and then immersed into the centrifugal tube with corresponding number respectively and the expression of CXCR3 in conjunctival epithelium of at perimenopause and non-perimenopause in dry eye cases were detected by flow cytometry.

RESULTS: The break-up time(BUT)and Schirmer Ⅰ test result of perimenopause was significantly lower than those of non-perimenopause(F=4.076, 5.023; P<0.05). Positive expression rate of CXCR3 at non-perimenopause in dry eye cases was more obvious than that at perimenopause in dry eye syndrome cases(P<0.01). Expression rate of CXCR3 in dry eye cases was negatively correlated with BUT and Schirmer Ⅰ test(r=-0.753, r=-0.684; P<0.05). However, it was non-related with corneal fluorescence staining(P>0.05).

CONCLUSION: CXCR3 plays an inflammatory mediators role in dry eye mechanism and its expression level reflects the progress of dry eye at perimenopause.