Immunohistopathological study of chalazia

ABSTRACT

Chalazion is a chronic lipogranuloma of the Meibomian glands. The exact nature of the cellular components has not been adequately described before, especially in an immunophenotypic context. In the present work, monoclonal antibodies [MAB] are used to characterize the accumulating macrophages, lymphocytes or other cellular elements in 25 eyelid chalazia, ranging from 2 weeks to 6 months duration in young Egyptian adults. A small panel of monoclonal antibodies, reportedly effective for routinely processed tissue [anti Leu M1, L26, UCHL1, HLA-DR, KP1, MT1] was used with B5 fixed and paraffin-embedded resected chalazia, using a modification of the avidin-biotin complex method. Phagocytic and multinucleated giant cells were stained positively with KP1, in a cytoplasmic staining pattern. Stellate cells were stained by HLA-DR. Some lymphocytes reacted positively with UCHL1, a few others with L26 and no specific reaction was evident with MT1 and Leu M1. conclusions: The present study demonstrates reactive cellularity in chalazion granuloma and proposes the role of antigenic cells, with lymphoid cells acting as memory cells that require further description. Our findings suggest a mixed pathogenesis for chalazia