Prostaglandin J2 in tears of patients with severe allergic conjunctival diseases

Abstract

Abstract: : Purpose:Allergic inflammation is a biphasic immunological reaction (early and late phase). The late phase reaction involving eosinophilic infiltration is thought to be important in the pathogenesis of corneal lesions in severe allergic conjunctival diseases. The role of prostaglandins (PG) in the late phase reaction is unclear. PGJ2, a metabolite of PGD2, is known to have chemotactic activity for eosinophils. Therefore, we measured the concentrations of PGJ2 in the tears of patients with severe allergic conjunctival diseases. Methods:Unstimulated tears were collected from 6 eyes (patients) with severe allergic conjunctival diseases complicated by corneal lesions and 6 normal volunteers. Tears were also collected from 4 eyes after treatment of the corneal lesions. All subjects gave informed consent for participation. The concentration of PGJ2 in tear samples was measured by enzyme–linked immunoassays. Results:The concentration of PGJ2 in tears from severe allergic conjunctival diseases and healthy volunteer was 2346.9 +/– 849.2 (mean +/– S.E.) pg/ml and 22.0 +/– 8.0 respectively (p<0.05). The concentration of PGJ2 in tears after remission of corneal lesions was reduced to 643.3 +/– 271.7 pg/ml. Conclusions:PGJ2 concentration in tear samples was significantly increased in patients with severe allergic conjunctival diseases compared to normal subjects. This concentration decreased with treatment. These findings may suggest that PGJ2 plays an important role in the propagation of allergic inflammation.

Keywords: conjunctivitis • cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye • inflammation