Researchers used a multiphoton microscope that provides live images of living, intact biological tissues to study cornea cells in mice infected with Herpes Simplex Virus.
Their images revealed long-living memory T cells produced in the mice’s eyes to fight the infection. The memory T cells remained in the cornea after the virus was eliminated to ward off any future reinfection.
Advanced imaging of the eye in healthy people also revealed immune cells patrolling the cornea – the first time that cells have been imaged moving in human eyes.
For humans to see, the cornea must remain transparent to ensure focused light is received by the retina through the iris.
The presence of T cells in the corneas was previously not considered, given the eyes produce only a dampened immune response to avoid inflammation that would obstruct our vision.
These discoveries have important implications for understanding how eyes ward off dangerous infections.
Eyes Can Protect Themselves
The current understanding that T cells are not found in healthy corneas needs to be reconsidered, as our discovery shows tissue-resident memory T cells entering the cornea and remaining there for long periods.
These findings will improve the understanding of how to protect our eyes from infections that cause permanent blindness, such as Herpes Simplex Virus.
This also has implications for understanding chronic conditions such as dry eye disease and common eye allergies where unwanted T cells might also cause disease.
Source: Medindia
For all the latest Health News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Denial of responsibility! NewsBit.us is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
