Pollen-specific IgG antibodies in the tears of patients with allergic-like conjunctivitis.

Specific-IgG antibodies to rye grass and/or AgE in the tear secretions were demonstrated in studies of patients with the clinical features of allergic conjunctivitis but negative immediate skin reactivity and absent IgE antibodies by RAST to the inhalant pollen allergens. Studies by use of transferrin as a marker for the vascular leakage of plasma proteins into the tear secretions indicated that more than 98% of these pollen-specific IgG antibodies were locally produced by the conjunctival tissues of the external eye. These findings suggest that IgG-mediated immune mechanism(s) are important in the pathogenesis of some patients with allergic-like conjunctivitis.