Open AccessEffects of Terpinen-4-ol on Meibomian Gland Epithelial Cells In Vitro
Author(s) -
Di Chen,
Jingyi Wang,
David A. Sullivan,
Wendy R. Kam,
Yang Liu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
cornea
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.274
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1536-4798
pISSN - 0277-3740
DOI - 10.1097/ico.0000000000002506
Subject(s) - meibomian gland , blepharitis , in vitro , demodex , biology , eyelid , andrology , pathology , medicine , cancer research , immunology , ophthalmology , mite , biochemistry , botany
Infestation with demodex mites has been linked to the development of chalazion, meibomian gland dysfunction, and blepharitis. An effective treatment is the eyelid application of terpinen-4-ol (T4O), a tea tree oil component. However, T4O is also known to be toxic to nonocular epithelial cells. We hypothesize that T4O toxicity also extends to human meibomian gland epithelial cells (HMGECs).