[Cytokines in the tear fluid and their role in the pathogenesis of ophthalmic herpes].

The papers deals with the levels of cytokines in the tear and blood serum of patients with ophthalmoherpes. Damaging the cornea, herpes virus is shown to induce the synthesis of IL-1alpha, alpha-TNF, and alpha2-INF both in the tear and serum. The levels of these cytokines are much greater than the controls. Superficial corneal damages are characterized by lower cytokine concentrations than deep damages. The treatment of ophthalmoherpes with recombinant alpha2-interferon, superoxide dismutase and anti-herpes I serum leads to significant reductions in all the cytokines in question. However, the levels of the antiinflammatory cytokines IL-1beta and alpha-TNF remain higher than the controls. Those of alpha2-IFN reach the control values. The data presented in the paper indicate that antiinflammatory cytokines are involved in the pathogenesis of ophthalmoherpes.