Abstract
Purpose::
To measure by the Impression Cytology (IC) technique the expression of HLA-DR by the conjunctival epithelium from 0 to 2 years after severe ocular burns, the cytological modifications of the conjunctival surface according to the Nelson’s classification and their correlation.
Methods::
24 patients (24 eyes) who presented with severe ocular burns underwent IC and were compared with 18 healthy eyes. HLA-DR expression was studied in flow cytometry as well as the conjunctival histology evaluated with the Nelson’s Classification.
Results::
There was a significant upregulation of the expression of HLA-DR compared to the healthy population at 0 month (p<0.001), 2 months (p<0.001), 6 months (p<0.001), 12 months (p=0.019), 18 months (p=0.0171) and 24 months (p=0.01766) after burn. A significant difference was found between the Grade of Nelson in the pathological population and those of the healthy population at 0 month (p<0.001) and 2 months (p=0.0157). HLA-DR upregulation was significantly correlated with the Nelson's Grades between 0 month (R = 075, p < 0.0001) and 6 months (R = 0.61, p = 0.0001).
Conclusions::
IC technique is a state of the art tool for following-up ocular surface inflammation after severe ocular burns. It may help in taking decisions regarding iterative amniotic membrane grafting and ocular surface reconstruction surgery.
Keywords: cornea: clinical science • immunomodulation/immunoregulation • conjunctiva