Immune response to specific molecules of the retina in proliferative vitreoretinal disorders

Abstract

In recent years, several reports have contributed to a growing suspicion that there is immunologic involvement in proliferative intraocular disorders such as proliferative vitreoretinopathy and proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Immune privilege, as in the brain, ovary and testis, also exists in the eye. Therefore, immune responses to unique molecules of the eye, e.g. retinal S-antigen (S-Ag), which the immune system never learns to regard as "self", are possible. This study describes the presence of S-Ag, a major soluble photoreceptor protein involved in the visual transduction cascade, in pathological vitreous. We employed indirect immunoblotting, with human retina as substrate, and demonstrated the occurrence of antiretinal antibodies in the sera of a series of patients with proliferative vitreoretinal disorders. Immunoblot analysis of physiological retina and lyophilized S-Ag, revealed this protein as a target molecule of the immunological involvement of the retina. Further immunochemical investigation, however, must clarify whether this autoimmune reaction is the cause, a consequence, or an aggravating factor of the disease. As we come to understand the cellular and molecular mechanism, a new generation of therapeutic strategies may be envisioned.

25-gauge Vitrectomy for Complicated Chronic Endogenous/Autoimmune Uveitis: Predictors of Outcomes

“…Such inflamed eyes usually behave like a culture media and produce cytokines that may immunologically activate released RPE and other responsible cells to trigger PVR cascade. 37 In the current study, we did not observe any association of age, gender, presence of retinitis, choroiditis, and retinal vasculitis as well as etiology on the study outcomes, which could be due to small sample size.…”

Comparative gene expression profiling of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and ocular vascular endothelial cells

“…In comparison, a diverse range of different probe sets were upregulated in ocular MVEC that included genes involved in immune responses, signal transduction and the cellular responses to stimuli. Immune mechanisms are thought, in part, to be important in the pathogenesis of both diabetic retinopathy14 15 and wet AMD 16 17. Given that the microvasculature undergoes regular remodelling and is the site of both physiological and pathological angiogenesis, it is not surprising that a number of genes involved in cell signalling and cell basement membrane turnover are also differentially upregulated.…”

Blood serum levels of vascular cell adhesion molecule (sVCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule (sICAM-1) and endothelial leucocyte adhesion molecule-1 (ELAM-1) in diabetic retinopathy

“…Some authors have reported that the increased levels of soluble adhesion molecules play an important role in macrovascular [6][7][8] as well as in microvascular complications of diabetes [4,5,8]. Besides autoimmunological mechanisms, additional immune interactions may also be involved in the pathogenesis of microvascular complications in diabetes mellitus type 1 [9]. Diabetic retinal neovascularization is considered to be a consequence of retinal ischaemia caused by capillary occlusion.…”