ANTICHLAMYDIAL ACTIVITY OF LACRIMAL FLUID IN PATIENTS WITH TRACHOMA

The effect of lacrimal fluid on the growth of Chlamydia trachomatis in cycloheximide-treated McCoy cells was studied in 172 persons with act ive trachoma (Group A), in 54 with scarring trachoma (Group B) and in 40 healthy subjects (Group C). The patients in groups A and B were tre ated with tetracycline eye ointment for 4-6 weeks after which tears we re collected for retesting. pooled lacrimal fluid from patients with a ctive trachoma, collected before treatment, had a higher antichlamydia l activity compared with healthy individuals. No reduction of the chla mydial inclusion count was seen with such fluid from patients with sca rring trachoma. After tetracycline treatment, patients with active tra choma had a slight decrease in their inhibitory activity. In patients with scarring trachoma, the treatment did not significantly reduce the inclusion count. Antichlamydial antibodies were detected more often i n patients with active trachoma than in patients with scarring trachom a, while the healthy individuals had no such antibodies. Ultrafiltered and nonfiltered lacrimal fluids were equally effective in inhibiting C. trachomatis inclusion-formation. The inhibitory principle had a mol ecular weight of less than 10,000 Da.