PURPOSE Interleukin (IL)-21 has recently been shown to play a vital role in the development of many autoimmune diseases. Our study is designed to investigate the alteration and possible function of IL-21 in the development of an experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) model. METHODS EAU was induced in B10.RIII mice by subcutaneous injection of interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) ...

PURPOSE The therapeutic effects of betamethasone phosphate (BP) encapsulated in biocompatible and biodegradable blended nanoparticles of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) homopolymers and PEG-block-PLA copolymers (stealth nanosteroids) were examined in an experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) model in Lewis rats. METHODS EAU was induced by S-antigen peptide in Lewis rats. Accumulation of systemic...

PURPOSE To evaluate Fas expression on CD4 and CD8 T cells in each organ at each stage of experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) and apoptotic cells within EAU eyes. METHODS Rats were immunized with the uveitopathogenic peptide derived from interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein. Flow cytometry was performed in ocular cells, draining lymph nodes cells and splenic cells of EAU rats to...

PURPOSE To investigate the effect of systemic or local TNF-α inhibition with etanercept on experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU). METHODS EAU was induced by immunizing B10.RIII mice with IRBPp161-180 or by adoptively transferring uveitogenic splenocytes. Mice received systemic or local treatment with etanercept in the afferent or efferent phase. For systemic treatment, mice were injecte...

PURPOSE To examine the role of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) in the induction of experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU), the authors compared in vivo TNF production in EAU-susceptible and EAU-resistant strains of congenic mice and attempted to determine whether TNF can enhance the inflammation in EAU by injection of TNF at the time of immunization. METHODS The production of TNF after...

PURPOSE To determine whether the inflammation of endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) and experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU) alters key in vivo and in vitro parameters of ocular immune privilege. METHODS For EIU induction, C3H/HeN mice received 200 microg lipopolysaccharide (LPS). For EAU induction, B10.A mice were immunized with 50 microg interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP...

PURPOSE Aluminum hydroxide (Al) is an adjuvant to induce Th2 immune responses. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of pretreatment with Al on experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis (EAU), a Th1 disease model. METHODS Lewis rats were pretreated with an uveitogenic peptide (#29)/Al, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)/Al or PBS. EAU was then induced by immunization of #29 in complete...

To study retinal immunity in a defined system, a CD4+ TCR transgenic mouse line (betagalTCR) specific for beta-galactosidase (betagal) was created and used with transgenic mice that expressed betagal in retinal photoreceptor cells (arrbetagal mice). Adoptive transfer of resting betagalTCR T cells, whether naive or Ag-experienced, into arrbetagal mice did not induce retinal autoimmune disease (e...

Experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) represents autoimmune uveitis in humans. We examined the role of the interleukin (IL)-23-IL-17 and IL-12-T helper cell (Th)1 pathways in the pathogenesis of EAU. IL-23 but not IL-12 was necessary to elicit disease by immunization with the retinal antigen (Ag) interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) in complete Freund's adjuvant. IL-17 played a do...

Murine experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) is a model of human uveitis. Ocular-infiltrating macrophages play a crucial role in the generation of tissue damage in EAU. In fact, several chemokines are actually produced in the inflamed eye. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of ocular macrophage-derived chemokines in EAU. C57BL/6 mice were immunized with human interphotoreceptor ret...