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B Rice

Publications and source records attributed to B Rice.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

The T cell receptor in normal and inflamed human conjunctiva.

The majority of human peripheral blood and lymphoid tissue T cells express the TCR alpha/beta heterodimer, while the TCR gamma/delta is expressed on only a small subset of T lymphocytes. However, the majority of murine intraepithelial lymphocytes and most Thy-1+ murine dendritic epidermal cells express the TCR gamma/delta. Selective homing of avian TCR gamma/delta bearing lymphocytes to the intestinal epithelium also has been shown. These findings have suggested that these cells play a role against transformation and infection. More recently, a role in autoimmunity also has been proposed. We examined normal human conjunctiva and inflamed conjunctiva from patients with ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP), an autoimmune disorder, and atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC). The majority of T cells in the epithelium and substantia propria of normal conjunctiva expressed the TCR alpha/beta. Tropism of TCR gamma/delta-expressing lymphocytes to normal human conjunctiva was not present. However, in OCP, there was a statistically significant increase in the absolute number of TCR gamma/delta cells/mm2 (epithelium, 33.9 +/- 10.5 [mean +/- standard error of the mean] vs. 159.9 +/- 51.5, P = less than 0.0008; substantia propria, 4.1 +/- 0.9 vs. 240.1 +/- 191.3, P less than 0.002) and TCR gamma/delta cells as a percentage of CD3+ cells (epithelium, 0.18 +/- 0.06 vs. 0.39 +/- 0.07, P = less than 0.02; substantia propria, 0.10 +/- 0.05 vs 0.33 +/- 0.08, P = less than 0.03). This was not the case for AKC. These findings suggest that TCR gamma/delta lymphocytes play a specific but undefined role in certain conjunctival inflammatory conditions and may be important in autoimmunity.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1988

Detection of ocular mucus in normal human conjunctiva and conjunctiva from patients with cicatricial pemphigoid using lectin probes and histochemical techniques.

Conjunctival biopsies from patients with cicatricial pemphigoid affecting the conjunctiva and patients undergoing cataract surgery (normal conjunctiva) were snap-frozen, cryostat sectioned and incubated with fluorescein-conjugated lectins; peanut agglutinin (PNA), Helix pomatia agglutinin (HPA), soybean agglutinin (SBA), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) and succinylated wheat germ agglutinin (S-WGA). Controls consisted of preincubating the lectins with the appropriate blocking sugars before applying the lectins to the sections. PNA and HPA stained the mucus granules contained in the conjunctival goblet cells but did not stain mucus or glycocalyx at the ocular surface distal to the goblet cells. Native WGA and S-WGA had high affinities for conjunctival goblet cells and the apical epithelial cell layers. Native WGA stained mucus and glycocalyx at the ocular surface. This staining of the ocular surface by WGA was confirmed at the transmission electron microscopic level using WGA conjugated to ferritin. Cicatricial pemphigoid patients in this study had reduced numbers of goblet cells; however, those goblet cells which were observed in cicatricial pemphigoid conjunctiva stained positively with HPA, PNA, WGA, and SWGA as did goblet cells in normal conjunctiva.

Conjunctiva↗
PubMed1987

Low-dose synthetic narcotic infusions for cerebral relaxation during craniotomies.

Thirty patients undergoing craniotomies were given infusions of fentanyl 1 microgram X kg-1 X hr-1, sufentanil 0.1 microgram X kg-1 X hr-1, or normal saline in a double-blind study of cerebral relaxation. Significantly better relaxation scores were achieved in patients given a narcotic infusion, but there was no difference between the scores with the two narcotics. Infusions of narcotics at these low rates did not delay recovery or alter the requirement for other anesthetic agents. Narcotic infusion rates that do not delay recovery or alter depth of anesthesia significantly improve cerebral relaxation.

Brain↗