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High levels of natural killer cells found in glaucoma patients
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CANCUN, Mexico — Glaucoma patients have high levels of natural killer cells, according to a poster study presented here at the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology meeting. The finding may lead to new glaucoma treatment strategies, the study authors said.
Sandra Dixon Rosas, MD, and colleagues investigated used flow cytometry to quantify the expression of these cells, which are known for their function in the innate immune system. Their study included 25 patients diagnosed with primary open-angle glaucoma and 25 control patients.
The glaucoma patients had no immunological illnesses that might have accounted for the presence of natural killer cells, the authors noted.
The researchers found that 88% of the glaucoma patients had high levels of natural killer cells, while all patients in the control group were within the normal limit, according to the study.
"We want to learn the role of the reactivity of auto-antibodies in the pathogenesis of this illness and thus be able to identify those white antigens in order to explain the pathogenesis of glaucoma and to be able to know the prognosis as well as effective strategies of neuroprotection," the researchers said.