EXPERIMENTAL ACUTE ANTERIOR UVEITIS

人类眼内炎症最常见的形式是急性的 病因不明的前葡萄膜炎（AAU）。的经常性质 这种疾病可以导致永久性的视力丧失， 黄斑囊样水肿并发症，后囊下 白内障或青光眼。因此，它是视觉的主要原因。 残疾人在我们的社会。 直到最近，还没有AAU的实验动物模型存在。在 最广泛研究的自身免疫性眼内炎症模型， 实验性自身免疫性葡萄膜炎（EAU）对各种可溶性视网膜色素变性的影响 蛋白质，视网膜和脉络膜是炎症的病灶， 虹膜/睫状体（CB），如在人AAU中。我们以及 Brockhuyse和同事描述了一种新的实验模型 在刘易斯大鼠中，其通过用牛免疫诱导 来源于虹膜/CB的黑色素相关蛋白， 模拟人类AAU。我们称之为实验性急性前 葡萄膜炎（BAAU）。 本提案中的研究旨在完成 自身免疫模型的免疫学表征，以鉴定 致病蛋白及其免疫优势表位，探索 疾病的免疫发病机制，并研究 各种治疗方法。直接学习A的机会 眼内炎症的临床相关模型令人兴奋 并提供了独特的可能性，以了解和防止 与显著发病率相关的疾病， 只能治标不治本。

The most frequent form of human intraocular inflammation is acute anterior uveitis (AAU) of unknown etiology. The recurrent nature of the disease can lead to permanent visual loss from the secondary complications of cystoid macular edema, posterior subcapsular cataract or glaucoma. Consequently, it is a major cause of visual disability in our society. Until recently, no experimental animal model of AAU existed. In the most widely studied model of autoimmune intraocular inflammation, experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) to various soluble retinal proteins, the retina and choroid are the foci of inflammation not the iris/ciliary body (CB) as in human AAU. We, as well as Brockhuyse and colleagues, have described a new experimental model in the Lewis rat which is induced by immunization with a bovine melanin associated protein derived from the iris/CB and which mimics human AAU. We refer to it as experimental acute anterior uveitis (BAAU). The studies in this proposal are designed to complete the immunologic characterization of the autoimmune model, to identify the pathogenic protein and its immunodominant epitopes, to explore the immunopathogenesis of the disease and to study the efficacy of various treatment approaches. The opportunity to directly study a clinically relevant model of intraocular inflammation is exciting and provides unique possibilities to understand and prevent a disease which is associated with significant morbidity and which can only be treated symptomatically, but not cured.