OCULAR IMMUNOLOGY AND INFLAMMATION, cilt.27, sa.7, ss.1184-1193, 2019 (SCI-Expanded)
Purpose: To assess differential roles of inflammatory cells in pathophysiology of severe atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC) and evaluate immunomodulatory effects of topical cyclosporine A (CsA). Methods: A total of 10 patients with severe, steroid-dependent/resistant chronic active AKC were treated using frequent topical CsA 0.05% as monotherapy for 2?months. Conjunctival biopsy specimens before and after treatment were examined using immunohistochemistry. A total of 10 healthy age-matched adults served as the control group. Results: Baseline AKC samples revealed greater cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4), interferon gamma (IFN?), human leukocyte antigen?D-related (HLA-DR) positive cell densities compared with healthy controls (P??0.05). Despite reduction after treatment (P?=?0.06), HLA-DR expression remained higher than controls (P?