Local antibody formation within the eye: a study of immunoglobulin class and antibody specificity.

Primary immunogenic uveitis was induced in the rabbit eye with a single injection of antigen into the vitreous, and secondary booster uveitis responses were induced two months later by intravenous administration of the same antigen. The distribution of immunoglobulin classes and the specificity of the antibodies produced were assessed early and late in the primary response and early and late in the secondary response, and were compared with the analogous responses in the spleen and regional lymph nodes. At each of these stages of intraocular antibody response, IgG formation was higher and IgM formation lower than that seen in organized lymphoid tissues, while the proportion of IgA-forming cells was similar to the low levels usually found in the spleen. A significant proportion of IgA-forming cells was found in the perilimbal conjunctiva, and even greater levels in the lacrimal glands. At each stage of the response, the proportion of immunoglobulin-forming cells making antibody specific for the inciting ovalbumin antigen was surprisingly low, reaching only seven per cent during the late primary reaction and 18 per cent during the late secondary reaction.