Immunohistologic Studies on Antigen-antibody Reactions in the Avascular Cornea

The injection of antigen into the center of the avascular cornea of homologously sensitized animals induced a ring of opacification between the center of the cornea and the limbus. This ring of opacification was composed of a line of deeply eosinophilic amorphous material in a matrix of swollen collagen fibers, palisaded by polymorphonuclear leucocytes. By use of fluor-tagged antigen, it was shown that the line of damage in the cornea coincided with the precipitation of antigen presumably by antibody entering the cornea from the limbal vessels. With the passage of time, the antigen-antibody precipitates were removed, at least in part by phagocytosis, and the ring of opacification was replaced by ingrowing blood vessels surrounded by plasma cells. Treatment of sensitized animals with nitrogen mustard showed that antigen-antibody interaction could injure the corneal stroma in the relative absence of polymorphonuclear leucocytes.