Age-related Defects in Ocular and Nasal Mucosal Immune System and the Immunopathology of Dry Eye Disease

Dry eye disease (DED) is a prevalent public health concern that affects up to 30% of adults and is particularly chronic and severe in the elderly. Two interconnected mechanisms cause DED: (1) an age-related dysfunction of lacrimal and meibomian glands, which leads to decreased tear production and/or...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ocular immunology and inflammation 2016-06, Vol.24 (3), p.327-347
Main Authors: Farid, Marjan, Agrawal, Anshu, Fremgen, Daniel, Tao, Jeremiah, Chuyi, He, Nesburn, Anthony B., BenMohamed, Lbachir
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Aging - physiology
Conjunctiva - immunology
dry eye
Dry Eye Syndromes - immunology
Humans
Immune System - physiology
inflammation
Mucous Membrane
Nasal Mucosa - immunology
nasal mucosal immune system
ocular mucosal immune system
T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory - immunology
Th1
Th1 Cells - immunology
Th17
Th17 Cells - immunology
treg
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Summary:Dry eye disease (DED) is a prevalent public health concern that affects up to 30% of adults and is particularly chronic and severe in the elderly. Two interconnected mechanisms cause DED: (1) an age-related dysfunction of lacrimal and meibomian glands, which leads to decreased tear production and/or an increase in tear evaporation; and (2) an age-related uncontrolled inflammation of the surface of the eye triggered by yet-to-be-determined internal immunopathological mechanisms, independent of tear deficiency and evaporation. In this review we summarize current knowledge on animal models that mimic both the severity and chronicity of inflammatory DED and that have been reliably used to provide insights into the immunopathological mechanisms of DED, and we provide an overview of the opportunities and limitations of the rabbit model in investigating the role of both ocular and nasal mucosal immune systems in the immunopathology of inflammatory DED and in testing novel immunotherapies aimed at delaying or reversing the uncontrolled age-related inflammatory DED.
ISSN:0927-3948
1744-5078
DOI:10.3109/09273948.2014.986581