Research progress of programmed death-1 and its ligands pathway in ophthalmology

Abstract

Costimulatory signals have become a hot field in immunological researches. As co-inhibitory molecules, programmed death-1 ( PD-1) and its ligands (PD-1/PD-L) have been demonstrated to play an important role in autoimmune disease, organ transplant rejection, microorganism infection, tumor immune escapes etc. . In recent years,some studies about PD-1/PD-L pathway in ophthalmology have been curried out and reported. Some changes were found in PD-1/PD-L pathway, such as ocular immunologic diseases, ocular infectious diseases, ocular tumors, immune privilege in ocular tissues and so on. Through the research on PD-1/PD-L pathway,we can further understand the pathogenesis of some ocular diseases and find new methods for their prevention and treatments. This article reviewed the recent advances in PD-1/PD-L pathway in ophthalmological physiopathology. Key words: PD-1; Ligand; Immunoregulation; Ophthalmological physiopathology