Presence of circulating immune complexes in patients with peripheral corneal disease

Seventeen patients with peripheral corneal thinning and ulcers (four with Mooren's corneal ulcer, five with Terrien's marginal degeneration, and eight with collagen vascular disease) were tested for immune complexes in their serum. Circulating immune complexes, measured by Raji cell and C1q binding assays, were compared with levels in serum samples from normal controls and seven patients with staphylococcal marginal corneal ulcers. Comparison with normal controls showed significantly higher levels of circulating immune complexes in patients with collagen disease by the C1q binding assay and in patients with Mooren's ulcer by the Raji cell assay. Circulating immune complexes may play a role in the pathogenesis of Mooren's ulcer and marginal ulceration in the presence of collagen vascular disease. Their presence, however, may represent an epiphenomenon nonspecifically associated with corneal ulceration.