Abstract
Purpose.: To evaluate goblet cell density (GCD) on conjunctiva and cornea in patients with ocular chemical burns by in vivo laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) and impression cytology (IC) and to explore the correlation between two methods.
Methods.: Fifty-four patients (58 eyes) with chemical burn were enrolled in the study. LSCM was applied to identify the goblet cells on conjunctiva and cornea under in vivo conditions, and GCD was analyzed with the customized software. Impression cytology was then performed, and the biopsy specimens were stained to visualize goblet cells in vitro and to measure the density. Statistical software was used to analyze the correlation between GCD taken by two methods.
Results.: Conjunctival goblet cells could be discriminated in 55 eyes and 57 eyes by in vivo LSCM and IC. They could be identified on the cornea in nine eyes and eight eyes by two methods. The positive rate of two methods had no significant difference. GCDs on conjunctiva measured by in vivo LSCM and IC were 136 ± 79 cells/mm2 and 121 ± 66 cells/mm2. Median GCDs on cornea detected by two methods were 30 cells/mm2 and 23 cells/mm2, respectively. A significant positive correlation was found between the GCDs on conjunctiva measured by these two methods as well as the GCDs on cornea.
Conclusions.:
GCD decreased in patients with chemical burns. A positive correlation was found between GCD measured by in vivo LSCM and IC after chemical burns. In vivo LSCM was a promising device to study goblet cells in vivo under pathologic conditions.
Abstract
Conjunctival goblet cell (GC) loss in dry eye is associated with ocular surface inflammation. This study investigated if conjunctival GCs contribute to ocular surface immune tolerance. Antigens applied to the ocular surface, imaged by confocal microscopy, passed into the conjunctival stroma through goblet cell associated passages (GAPs) in wild type C57BL/6 (WT), while ovalbumin (OVA) was retained in the epithelium of SAM pointed domain containing ETS transcription factor (Spdef) knockout mice (Spdef−/−) that lack GCs and are a novel model of dry eye. Stimulated GC degranulation increased antigen binding to GC mucins. Induction of tolerance to topically applied OVA measured by cutaneous delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) was observed in WT, but not Spdef−/−. OTII CD4+ T cells primed by dendritic cells (DCs) from the conjunctival draining lymph nodes of Spdef−/−
Goblet Cells Contribute to Ocular Surface Immune Tolerance—Implications for Dry Eye Disease
Flavia L. Barbosa,
1 Yangyan Xiao,
1,2 Fang Bian,
1 Terry G. Coursey,
1 Byung Yi Ko,
1,3 Hans Clevers,
4 Cintia S. de Paiva,
1 and
Stephen C. Pflugfelder1,*
Igor A. Butovich, Academic Editor
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