title: Immunohistochemistry of Terrien's and Mooren's corneal degeneration.
abstract: Lamellar keratoplasty specimens from a patient with Terrien's marginal degeneration and a patient with Mooren's ulcer were compared using routine histopathologic and immunohistochemical staining with an avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex. Less than 25% of the resident cells in the Terrien's marginal degeneration specimen expressed major histocompatibility class II antigens compared with 75% to 100% of the resident cells in the Mooren's ulcer specimen. The ratio of CD4 cells (T-helper/inducer) to CD8 cells (T-suppressor/cytotoxic cells) in the Terrien's marginal degeneration specimen was almost 1:1 compared with 24:1 in the Mooren's ulcer specimen. In addition, less than 5% of the infiltrating cells from the Terrien's marginal degeneration specimen stained positive for CD22 (B cells), compared with 25% to 50% from the Mooren's ulcer specimen. These data may help explain why Terrien's marginal degeneration runs a more benign course than does Mooren's ulcer and provides a rationale for the use of immunosuppressive drugs to treat Mooren's ulcer.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md 20892.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Whitcup
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Smet
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D016039:Corneal Transplantation; D005260:Female; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D014456:Ulcer / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II