TITLE:
Role of Aqueous Humor Light Chain Proteins in Glaucomatous Neurodegeneration
AUTHORS:
Tian Tian, Guojin Zuo, Qi Wang, Yanni Zhu
KEYWORDS:
Neurofilament Light Chain, Glaucoma, Aqueous Humor, Neurodegeneration
JOURNAL NAME:
Yangtze Medicine,
Vol.10 No.4,
November
9,
2026
ABSTRACT: Objectives: This paper aims to evaluate the predictive clinical role of Aqueous Humor Neurofilament light chain (NfL) Proteins in human aqueous humor (AH). Methods: In this single-center study, 37 patients were enrolled, including 21 glaucoma patients and 16 non-glaucoma patients. AH samples were collected during planned ophthalmic surgery. AH NfL was quantified using the Single Molecule Array (Simoa)® NF-light assay (Quanterix). Clinical information was obtained by reviewing the medical records. Between-group comparisons were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables and Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables. Results: In a model controlling for age and body mass index (BMI), NfL was significantly elevated in AH from glaucoma patients (519 ± 671 pg/mL) compared to AH from patients without glaucoma (5.6 ± 2.3 pg/ml, P Conclusions: AH NfL is significantly elevated in glaucoma patients. Our findings suggest that AH NfL may have clinical utility as a marker of glaucomatous neurodegeneration. Larger, multicenter studies are warranted to confirm these findings.