AUTOIMMUNITY TO THE ANTERIOR UVEA IN PATIENTS WITH UVEITIS

许多形式的前葡萄膜炎被认为是由自身免疫引起的 针对眼部抗原。然而，目前还没有证实 眼部特异性抗原参与了这一过程。是 重要的是要了解炎症的机制， 前葡萄膜炎患者。假定的炎症部位 这些患者是虹膜和睫状体。因此，我们开始寻找 虹膜特异性蛋白质， 反应对前葡萄膜炎患者进行自身抗体筛查 针对牛虹膜。 检测到针对一种蛋白质的抗体， 在某些患者中分子量约为22，000。相比 在对照组中，一般来说， 而不是控制个体。直到蛋白质被分离出来， 反应可以测量，这些抗体的真正意义将 不清楚。视网膜抗原的抗体比视网膜抗原的 相应的T细胞反应来区分患者和对照。 已经鉴定的蛋白质似乎是虹膜特有的， 在身体的其他组织中找不到。纯化该蛋白用于 其他免疫学研究正在进行中。

Many forms of anterior uveitis are presumed to be caused by autoimmunity directed toward ocular antigens. However, there has been no confirmation that an ocular-specific antigen is involved in this process. It is important to develop an understanding of the mechanisms of inflammation in patients that have anterior uveitis. The presumed site of inflammation in these patients is the iris and ciliary body. Therefore, we began to look for iris- specific proteins to which patients might have an autoimmune response. Patients with anterior uveitis were screened for autoantibodies directed against bovine iris. Antibodies were detected to a protein with a molecular weight of approximately 22,000 in some patients. When compared to a control group, patients, in general, have higher levels of this antibody than do control individuals. Until the protein is isolated and T-cell responses can be measured, the true significance of these antibodies will be unclear. Antibodies to retinal antigens are much less revealing than the corresponding T-cell responses in distinguishing patients from controls. The protein that has been identified appears to be specific to the iris and is not found in other tissues of the body. Purification of this protein for other immunologic studies is in progress.