[THE SENSORY NERVOUS SYSTEM MEDIATES INDUCTION OF GOBLET CELL-ASSOCIATED ANTIGEN PASSAGE STIMULATED BY PARTICULATE...

This article, written in response to receiving the academic conference award from the 72nd annual meeting of the Japanese society of allergology, reviews the author's research on allergic conjunctivitis, discusses its significance, and outlines future research directions.Previously, we reported that repeated topical application of pollen to the conjunctiva without prior systemic sensitization induced eosinophilic conjunctivitis and found that particulate matters like pollen shells were required for the development of local ocular allergy. To track the localization of antigens, we administered fluorescently labeled protein antigen to mouse conjunctiva together with pollen shells. Histological examination revealed that goblet cell associated antigen passages (GAPs) were rapidly formed upon stimulation of pollen shells. The antigen acquisition by the cells in the stroma was highly correlated with GAP formation.Kinetic experiments revealed that rapid antigen transport through GAPs played an important role in the development of the allergic conjunctivitis. Furthermore, topical anesthetics and electric ablation of the trigeminal nerve suppressed the pollen shell-stimulated GAP formation and antigen uptake in the conjunctiva. These results indicated that the pollen shell stimuli induced the GAP formation through a nerve-goblet cell association, which contributed to the development of allergic conjunctivitis.