Anti-Ro/-a poitivity and heat hock protein antibodie in patient with normal-preure glaucoma Original Reearch Article

Purpoe To decribe the clinical and laboratory finding in 10 patient with normal-preure glaucoma and anti-Ro/-A poitivity by enzymelinked immunoorbent aay (ELIA) and to determine whether that poitivity may be related to an autoimmune mechanim for the optic neuropathy. Method In thi propective tudy, we evaluated ocular and ytemic clinical finding of 10 patient with normal-preure glaucoma and anti-Ro/-A poitivity by ELIA, including icca complex feature. Oüchterlony immunodiffuion wa performed to confirm the preence of antibodie for Ro/-A, and the preence of other erum antibodie and their poible cro-reactivitie with Ro/-A were invetigated. Reult None of the 10 patient with normalpreure glaucoma and anti-Ro/-A poitivity (by ELIA) had clinical or laboratory ign of jögren yndrome or other connective tiue dieae. Only one of 10 patient had evidence of anti-Ro/-A antibodie by Oüchterlony immunodiffuion. All patient demontrated erum immunoreactivity to bacterial heat hock protein 60 (hp60) by Wetern blotting. Cro-reactivity between bacterial hp60 and Ro/-A wa demontrated by Wetern blotting. Immunoreactivity to bacterial hp60 by ELIA wa ignificantly elevated in the era of patient with normal-preure glaucoma. Furthermore, patient with either normal-preure or primary open-angle glaucoma had increaed erum immunoreactivity to human hp60. Concluion Anti-Ro/-A poitivity by ELIA in 10 patient with normal-preure glaucoma wa aociated with a high level of erum immunoreactivity to bacterial hp60, which may indicate that their glaucomatou optic neuropathy involve an a yet unidentified autoimmune mechanim. The identification of autoantibodie that react with human hp60 in patient with normalpreure and primary open-angle glaucoma may ignify a common finding aociated with the glaucomatou optic neuropathy proce in ome patient and appear to be unrelated to intraocular preure level.