OVC 2024: ‘Seeing’ immune cell dynamics in the cornea (Recorded Webcast)
Activity Outline
The cornea is a unique ocular tissue, owing to its transparency and accessibility at the surface of the eye. These features enable direct visualisation of its immune cells, using non-invasive imaging. This is the only place in the body where this can be achieved. Our research team at the University of Melbourne has recently developed a new imaging approach, which we term 'Functional In Vivo Confocal Microscopy' (Fun-IVCM), which allows us to dynamically image different types of immune cells in the cornea of living humans. Using this approach, we recently identified the presence of adaptive immune cells (T cells) patrolling the healthy human cornea. This finding redefines scientific understanding of the immune cell landscape in the human cornea under homeostatic conditions. This presentation will review current evidence relating to corneal immune cells, including how cell features can serve as biomarkers of disease and how targeting the behaviours of these cells could represent a potential therapeutic approach to treating ocular surface disease.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the bidirectional relationship between corneal immune cells and sensory nerves
- Appreciate how corneal in vivo confocal microscopy can be used as a non-invasive tool that provides unique insight into the dynamic features of immune cells
- Describe the immune cell types in the cornea, and why these cells are important for eye health
Max CPD hours awarded: 1.5
Session Information
| Name |
|---|
| OVC 2024: ‘Seeing’ immune cell dynamics in the cornea |
| Clinical? |
| Yes |
| Interactive? |
| No |
| Therapeutic? |
| Yes |
| Duration of CPD Session/Module |
| 1 |
| Duration of CPD Session/Module inclusive of Assessment Component |
| 1.5 |