Indirect immunofluorescence study of the cornea and the conjunctiva in a xenogeneic system: analysis of humoral reactivity in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis.
BACKGROUND
Ocular involvement in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) can cause progressive loss of vision. The pathophysiological events leading to the WG-specific ocular inflammation are unknown.


METHODS
A method involving indirect immunofluorescence on bovine and porcine corneoconjunctival frozen sections was used to detect antibodies to corneal and conjunctival epithelium in serum samples from patients suffering from WG with ophthalmic involvement (orbital granuloma or ocular vasculitis, both active and inactive phase). Normal persons and WG patients without ophthalmic involvement served as control groups. Anti-human IgG, IgA and IgM were tested.


RESULTS
Five different immunofluorescence patterns could be distinguished in each species. There were differences in the reactivity with bovine and porcine tissue. Every pattern was caused mainly by human IgG. The antibodies were directed to the cell nuclei or to extranuclear structures. All patterns also occurred frequently in normal sera. No pattern was found that occurred specifically in the serum of patients with WG and ocular inflammation.


CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that this immunofluorescence system does not detect a characteristic antibody profile that could be attributed to the serum of WG patients. Hence the approach lacks clinical usefulness as a diagnostic procedure.
Przyklang
U
U
Universitäts-Augenklinik, Kiel, Germany.
Nölle
B
B
Reinhold-Keller
E
E
Duncker
G
G
D000818:Animals; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D002417:Cattle; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000276:immunology*; D003231:Conjunctivitis / Q000276:immunology; D003315:Cornea / Q000276:immunology*; D003607:Dacryocystitis / Q000276:immunology; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / Q000379:methods; D006099:Granuloma / Q000276:immunology; D014890:Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000032:analysis; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis; D009916:Orbital Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D015423:Scleritis / Q000276:immunology; D013552:Swine; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous
D001323:Autoantibodies; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M