EXPERIMENTAL ACUTE ANTERIOR UVEITIS

人类眼内炎症最常见的形式是急性 病因不明的前葡萄膜炎（AAU）。反复发生的性质 该疾病可导致继发性永久性视力丧失 黄斑囊样水肿、后囊下水肿的并发症 白内障或青光眼。因此，它是导致视力下降的一个重要原因。 我们社会中的残疾。 直到最近，AAU 的实验动物模型还不存在。在 研究最广泛的自身免疫性眼内炎症模型， 各种可溶性视网膜的实验性自身免疫性葡萄膜炎（EAU） 蛋白质、视网膜和脉络膜是炎症的焦点，而不是 与人类 AAU 中一样的虹膜/睫状体 (CB)。我们，还有 Brockhuyse 和同事描述了一种新的实验模型 在Lewis大鼠中，这是通过牛免疫诱导的 黑色素相关蛋白源自虹膜/CB，其中 模仿人类 AAU。我们将其称为实验性急性前壁 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特征，以确定 致病蛋白及其免疫显性表位，以探索 该疾病的免疫发病机制并研究其疗效 各种治疗方法。有机会直接学习 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来理解和预防 与显着发病率相关的疾病，并且 只能对症治疗，不能治愈。

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.