IgE and non-IgE mechanisms in ocular allergy.
Various forms of conjunctival disease have traditionally been referred to by the umbrella term "allergic conjunctivitis," on the assumption that they are all caused by a Gell and Coombs type I hypersensitivity reaction. Recent evidence disputes this classification, however, and suggests that other mechanisms may also be responsible for the complex clinical features of conjunctival disease. Among these are non-IgE-mediated activation of mast cells, late-phase reactions, and nonspecific conjunctival hyperreactivity. The authors suggest that the pathophysiology of allergic eye disease is multifactorial, which explains the different clinical pictures seen in different patients. Both IgE-mediated and non-IgE-mediated mechanisms may cause an immediate reaction as well as allergic inflammation, and nonspecific hyperreactivity may occur both as a result of allergic inflammation and as an independent mechanism in nonallergic conjunctival disease.
Andrea Cesalpino Foundation, University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy.
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D000818:Animals; D003233:Conjunctivitis, Allergic / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology*; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013997:Time Factors
D007073:Immunoglobulin E