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Clinical and immunohistochemical correlation of herpetic keratitis with the expression of HLA-DR antigen

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Abstract

The corneal buttons after corneal graft of 22 patients with herpetic keratitis were studied (16 male, 6 female; 7–87 years of age). Ten still had active inflammation, while 12 had stabilized by the time of the study. Different degrees of neovascularization were observed in 19 cases. HLA-DR antigen was detected in the corneal epithelium in 7 of 22 cases (32%), in the corneal stroma in 17 of 22 cases (77%), and in the endothelium in 9 cases (41%) by using the immunohistochemical technique. The expression of HLA-DR antigen was more common and more marked in active herpetic keratitis (90%) and in neovascularized corneas (84%). The frequency and density of HLA-DR expression in perforating corneal ulcers were no higher than in other cases, but anterior synechia was accompanied by strong expression of HLA-DR antigen in the corneas. The expression of HLA-DR antigen was not only detected in the peripheral, but also in the central area of the specimens. The cells expressing HLA-DR antigen in corneas were mainly corneal cells. The results showed a close relationship between HSV-keratitis and the expression of HLA-DR antigen, which may be induced during the clinical course of the disease. The expression of HLA-DR might be one of the factors in the recurrent onset of the disease and a significant sign of the prognosis of corneal transplantation for these patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Eye Hospital, Mathildenstr. 8, W-8000, Munich 2, Germany

    Shibo Tang, Otto F. Scheiffarth & Fritz H. Stefani

  2. University Eye Hospital, Franz-Josef-Strauss-Allee 11, W-8400, Regensburg, Germany

    Shibo Tang

Authors
  1. Shibo Tang
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  2. Otto F. Scheiffarth
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  3. Fritz H. Stefani
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Scientific fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Federal Republic of Germany

In memoriam: Otto F. Scheiffarth

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Tang, S., Scheiffarth, O.F. & Stefani, F.H. Clinical and immunohistochemical correlation of herpetic keratitis with the expression of HLA-DR antigen. Graefe's Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 231, 162–165 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00920940

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00920940

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