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Review
Ageing and ocular surface immunity
  1. Alireza Mashaghi,
  2. Jiaxu Hong,
  3. Sunil K Chauhan,
  4. Reza Dana
  1. Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  1. Correspondence to Dr Reza Dana, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, 20 Staniford Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA; reza_dana{at}meei.harvard.edu

Abstract

The prevalence of ocular surface immunopathologies is enhanced in the elderly. This increased prevalence has been attributed to age-related dysregulation of innate and adaptive immune system responses. Age-related changes in ocular surface immunity have similar and distinct characteristics to those changes seen in other mucosal tissues. This mini review provides a brief outline of key findings in the field of ocular ageing, draws comparisons with other mucosal tissues and, finally, discusses age-related changes in the context of immunopathogenesis of infectious keratitis and dry eye disease, two of the most common inflammatory disorders of the ocular surface.

  • Ocular surface
  • Immunology
  • Infection
  • Inflammation

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2015-307848

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors AM and JH contributed equally to the article. AM, JH, and RD designed and drafted the paper. AM, JH, SKC and RD reviewed and revised the paper.

    • Funding Supported in part by National Institute of Health grants EY020889 (RD) and EY024602 (SKC).

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.