Upregulation of antibody response to heat shock proteins and tissue antigens in an ocular ischemia model.

PURPOSE. The aim of this study was to characterize the serum antibody reactivities occurring after ocular ischemia reperfusion. The time course of serum antibody responses was examined. METHODS. Wistar rats were exposed to transient ocular ischemia by elevating intraocular pressure to 130 mm Hg for 60 minutes. Axonal damage was evaluated on optic-nerve sections 2 and 4 weeks later. Blood samples collected before and several times after ischemia were used for antibody detection via customized protein microarrays. Different tissue antigens, including heat shock proteins (HSPs) and crystallins, were selected based on previous identification of antibody reactivities in studies on ischemic event…