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- Title
Immunopathology of ocular onchocerciasis. I. Inflammatory cells infilitrating the anterior segment.
- Authors
Chan, C. C.; Ottesen, E. A.; Awadzi, K.; Badu, R.; Nussenblatte, R. B.
- Abstract
Ocular tissue (conjunctiva and iris) was obtained from 12 adult African men with active ocular onchocerciasis and from nine age-matched persons from the same endemic region but without onchocercal infection. These tissues were examined immunohistologically and two major findings were noted. First, mild-to-moderate chronic inflammatory cellular infiltration was present in the conjunctiva of the onchocerciasis patients. T lymphocytes (CD3+) were the major inflammatory cells, and the T suppressor/cytotoxic (CD8+) subset was significantly increased in the ocular onchocerciasis patients (P < 0.03). Second, in the onchocerciasis patients, non-lymphoid cells of the conjunctiva and iris, such as vascular endothelium, pericytes and fibroblasts were in an activated slate, as shown by increased expression of Class M MHC antigens (P < 0.02, conjunctiva; P < 0.05, iris). These concomitant findings of lymphocyte infiltration and resident ceil activation indicate a dynamic state of localized host responsiveness presumably to the microfilarial parasites and their products in the anterior segments of the eyes of patients with ocular onchocerciasis.
- Subjects
FILARIASIS; ONCHOCERCIASIS; CONJUNCTIVA; PRESERVATION of organs, tissues, etc.; ENDOTHELIUM; LEUCOCYTES
- Publication
Clinical & Experimental Immunology, 1989, Vol 77, Issue 3, p367
- ISSN
0009-9104
- Publication type
Article