Table 3. Transcript relative expression of NRF2 pathway genes in control and keratoconus corneal epithelium.
| Genes Name | CTRL (dCT*±$) | dCT eKC* | Fold change | P value | dCT aKC* | Fold change | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRF2 | 0.17±0.24 | 1.3±0.38 | 0.46 | 0.028 | 0.15±0.39 | 1.03 | 1 |
| CUL3 | 1.77±0.37 | 2.63±0.49 | 0.55 | 0.147 | 0.61±0.21 | 1.75 | 0.4533 |
| KEAP1 | 4.17±0.3526 | 4.54±0.34 | 0.77 | 0.57 | 3.59±0.26 | 1.54 | 0.605 |
| HMOX1 | 5.77±0.36 | 8.61±0.35 | 0.14 | <0.0001 | 7.66±0.59 | 0.25 | 0.0317 |
| HMOX2 | 2.39±0.24 | 3.66±0.34 | 0.41 | 0.012 | 2.18±0.25 | 1.29 | 0.709 |
| NQO1 | -3.25±0.18 | -3.33±0.13 | 1.06 | 0.58 | -3.40±X | 0.97 | 0.55 |
* Mean expression normalized to that of housekeeping genes. dCT: deltaCycleThreshold.
$ Standard error to the mean. CTRL, control; eKC, early keratoconus; aKC, advanced keratoconus. Differentially expressed genes (0.5 ≥ fold change ≥ 2 and P value ≤ 0.05) are indicated in grey. Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.