Presence of snake-like chromatin in epithelial cells of keratoconjunctivitis sicca followed by a large number of micronuclei

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the number of micronuclei in snake-like chromatin (SLC) cells in the conjunctival epithelium of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) patients. To elucidate possible correlations between SLC cell numbers and KCS intensity. Study Design: Impression cytology specimens from the bulbar conjunctiva of healthy controls and KCS patients were harvested and divided into 3 groups: group 1, controls; group 2, KCS SLC\u96 negative; and group 3, KCS SLC\u96positive. The number of micronuclei (MNi) in SLC-negative and SLC-positive epithelial cells of each group was counted. Results: The number of MNi in SLC-negative cells of groups 1 and 2 did not exceed 1 MNi/1,000 cells. A significant increase in the frequency of micronuclei in the upper bulbar conjunctiva was noted in SLC-positive (14.75\ub18.09 MNi/1,000 cells) as well as SLC-negative cells (4.0\ub13.83 MNi/1,000 cells) of group 3. Conclusion: We demonstrate here that the presence of MNi in the conjunctival epithelium of KCS patients could be a characteristic feature accompanying SLC cells. The fact that increased numbers of SLC cells correlate with impaired values in clinical tests as well as decreased goblet and epithelial cell densities confirms that the presence of SLC cells correlates with KCS intensity