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Granulocyte Macrophage Colony–Stimulating Factor Expression in Human Herpetic Stromal Keratitis: Implications for the Role of Neutrophils in HSK

¹From the Institute of Virology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; and the ²Rotterdam Eye Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

PURPOSE. Granulocyte macrophage colony–stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is thought to play a key role in chronic inflammatory diseases by governing the survival and function of infiltrating neutrophils. The objective of this study was to determine the putative role of GM-CSF in the pathogenesis of human herpetic stromal keratitis (HSK).

METHODS. Primary human corneal fibroblast (HCF) cultures and a telomerase-immortalized human corneal epithelial (HCE) cell line representative of native HCE were stimulated with the known HSK-inducing cytokines interferon (IFN)-, interleukin (IL)-1ß, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-. Alternatively, the T-cell cytokine IL-17 was added solely or simultaneously. Human neutrophils were incubated with conditioned medium (CM) of the HCF and HCE stimulated with the aforementioned cytokines, or recombinant GM-CSF, and their viability or activation status was determined by flow cytometry. GM-CSF and IL-8 secretion levels in the CM were determined by ELISA. The antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) of neutrophils toward herpes simplex virus (HSV)-infected HCFs was determined by flow cytometry. The expression of GM-CSF was determined in HSK and control corneal buttons by real-time RT-PCR and immunohistology.

RESULTS. Compared with IFN-, CM of either cell type stimulated with IL-1ß, or in the case of HCE cells, stimulated with TNF- or IL-17, delayed neutrophil apoptosis significantly. Only in HCFs did IL-17 exhibit a synergistic effect with TNF-. The antiapoptotic activity was attributable in part to the GM-CSF secreted by the activated HCFs and HCE cells. GM-CSF stimulation of neutrophils induced their activation and the secretion of IL-8. GM-CSF did not increase significantly the ADCC reaction of neutrophils toward HSV-infected HCFs. Finally, GM-CSF was expressed in corneas of the patients with HSK but not in control subjects.

CONCLUSIONS. The data suggest that GM-CSF, expressed by cornea-resident cells such as HCFs and HCE cells, may play a role in the immunopathogenesis of HSK by prolonging the survival and modulating the effector function of corneal infiltrating neutrophils.

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