Anaphylaxis of ocular adnexa induced by infection of anti-IgE antibody.

To examine the role in ocular tissue injury of anaphylaxis alone (as distinct from other mechanisms possibly present in a model involving immunization), a model of anaphylaxis was produced by injection of rabbit anti-rat IgE antibody into ocular adnexal tissues of rats. Adnexal swelling, seen within 15 min, disappeared by 6 hr. Vascular permeability and weight of adnexal tissues were increased at 0.5 hr and had returned to near normal levels by 6 hr. Histologic study revealed extensive degranulation of mast cells at 0.5 hr after injection and a return to normal by 24 hr. Neutrophils reached a level of 7400/mm3 at 6 hr and returned to normal by 24 hr. Macrophages accumulated by 24 hr in all tissues, including control eyes injected with normal serum. The similarity of results from this 'pure' model of anaphylaxis to results from a model produced by injecting antigen into ocular adnexal tissues of immunized rats suggests that anaphylactic mechanisms are responsible for the changes seen in the antigen-injected model.