Kawamoto Koji, Chikama Tai-ichiro, Takahashi Norihisa, Nishida Teruo
Department of Ophthalmology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan.
Mol Vis. 2009 Jul 29;15:1456-62.
To characterize the cornea of individuals with Thygeson's superficial punctate keratitis (TSPK) at the cellular level by laser confocal biomicroscopy.
Both corneas of three patients with TSPK referred to Yamaguchi University Hospital were imaged with a laser confocal biomicroscope. Morphological changes were evaluated for each layer of the cornea.
The number of Langerhans cells was greatly increased in the basal cell layer of the focal corneal epithelium and in Bowman's layer in the four eyes affected by TSPK. Aggregates of these cells were associated with the subepithelial nerve plexus. Langerhans cells were also evident in the unaffected eyes of the two patients with unilateral TSPK, although their numbers were much smaller than those in the affected eyes. Topical treatment with betamethasone phosphate resulted in the virtual disappearance of Langerhans cells from the affected eyes.
The prominent association of Langerhans cells with TSPK suggests that the activation of these cells by inflammatory conditions might contribute to the pathogenesis of this disorder.
通过激光共聚焦显微镜在细胞水平上对蒂格森浅层点状角膜炎（TSPK）患者的角膜进行特征描述。
对转诊至山口大学医院的3例TSPK患者的双眼进行激光共聚焦显微镜成像。对角膜各层的形态学变化进行评估。
在4只受TSPK影响的眼睛中，角膜上皮基底细胞层和Bowman层中的朗格汉斯细胞数量大幅增加。这些细胞的聚集与上皮下神经丛相关。在2例单侧TSPK患者的未受影响眼中也可见朗格汉斯细胞，尽管其数量远少于受影响的眼睛。局部应用磷酸倍他米松导致受影响眼睛中的朗格汉斯细胞几乎消失。
朗格汉斯细胞与TSPK的显著关联表明，炎症状态下这些细胞的激活可能有助于该疾病的发病机制。
