Monoclonal antibody analysis of blood and cornea T lymphocyte subpopulations in herpes simplex keratitis.

There is now a great deal of evidence in favor of cell-mediated immunopathogenesis in herpes simplex (HS) keratitis. We used monoclonal antibodies specific for different cell subsets to analyze the blood and cornea-eluded lymphocyte subpopulations in HSV keratitis. There was a significant decrease in the proportion of cells expressing UCHT 1, OKT 4, and MID 4 antigens in the peripheral blood of patients as a whole, as opposed to sex- and age-matched controls. There was a slight decrease in OKT 4 cells in patients with herpetic keratouveitis when compared with patients with herpetic superficial keratitis, and a slight decrease in recurrent herpetic patients. Three corneal buttons showed a marked infiltration by suppressor/cytotoxic T cells, supporting the recent suggestion that lymphocytes might be cytotoxic for keratocytes.