Henry J. Kaplan, M.D.
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Cornell Medical School, New York, NY
Additional Training
University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Medical College of Wisconsin
Summary of Research Interests
The eye is a central nervous system organ that is readily accessible for the study of antigen presentation and regulation of the immune response. Furthermore, it has many distinctive immunologic features that provide the basis for the existence of immunologic privilege. My research program focuses on autoimmunity within the eye. A hallmark of the ocular immunologic milieu is the inhibition of delay-type hypersensitivity (DTH) so that the non-specific bystander destructive effects of inflammation will not damage the sensitive vision-producing structures of the eye. We explore this phenomenon in a murine model of autoimmunity, acute anterior uveitis. The immunopathogenic peptides present in the iris and ciliary body are being purified, sequenced and cloned. The role of complement in the development of peripheral tolerance to these peptides is being studied. Finally, novel radiopharmaceuticals are used with a microPET scanner to study the migration of inflammatory cells during the development of autoimmune disease, as well as the expression of relevant adhesion molecules and chemokine receptors.
Address
Kentucky Lions Eye Center
301 E. Muhammad Ali Boulevard
Louisville, KY 40202
Telephone: 502-852-3716
Fax: 502-852-4595
