Analysis of Pathogenic Bacteria of Mooren’s Ulcer and T Lymphocyte Activation

To analyze the distribution and types of pathogenic bacteria of Mooren’s ulcer and the activation mechanism of T lymphocytes to provide reference for the treatment of Mooren’s ulcer, 156 patients (162 eyes) who were in the hospital were rolled into the observation group. During the same period, 134 healthy people were rolled into the control group. The distribution of infectious pathogens in the observation group was identified. Then, flow cytometry was adopted to separate and detect the peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients, and RT-PCR was used to detect levels of the transcription factor T-bet, GATA-3, and Stat5 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). It was found that fungal pathogens accounted for 43.59%; the bacterial infection rate was 40.38%. In the observation group, the CD4, CD8, and C25 were expressed more (P < 0.01), and the CD45 and CD45R were expressed less than the control group (P < 0.05); the proportion of Th1 cells was obviously higher (P < 0.01); the expression of T-bet and GATA-3 was obviously higher (P < 0.05), the percentage of HLA-DR in CD4+ and HLA-DR, CD-25, and CD69 in CD8+ positive cells was obviously higher (P < 0.05). In conclusion, fungal infection rate of Mooren’s ulcer is relatively high, peripheral blood T cells and their subgroups are abnormally activated, and T cell activation is related to the pathogenesis of Mooren’s ulcer.

A case of bacterial keratitis caused by multi-drug-resistant Shewanella algae without marine exposure

Shewanella are Gram-negative rods and marine pathogens. Here, we report a case of bacterial keratitis caused by Shewanella algae without marine exposure. A 66-year-old man with suspected pneumonia was sent to the emergency department from a nursing hospital. He had been in there for 2 years in a vegetative state and could not close his eyes voluntarily. Neither the patient nor his family had experienced any marine exposure. Keratitis was suspected in his right eye. Gram-negative rods grew from swab culture and identified as S. algae by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and 16S rRNA sequencing. The patient was treated with topical tobramycin, moxifloxacin and ofloxacin as well as steroids for 14 days, and the keratitis improved. S. algae is a rare human pathogen, and most human infections involve marine exposure. This is the second report of bacterial keratitis caused by S. algae worldwide and the first in Asia.