Immune privilege in the anterior chamber of the eye: alloantigens and tumour-specific antigens presented into the anterior chamber simultaneously induce suppression and activation of delayed hypersensitivity to the respective antigens.

Allografts placed into the anterior chamber of the eye enjoy prolonged and sometimes permanent survival while similar grafts are promptly rejected if transplanted to non-privileged sites. The immunological privilege of the anterior chamber is due, in large part, to the systemic suppression of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) that is induced by anterior chamber presentation of alloantigens and is termed anterior chamber-associated immune deviation (ACAID). Although many categories of antigens elicit ACAID, strong tumour-specific transplantation antigens (TSTA) do not induce ACAID and instead, provoke potent DTH responses following anterior chamber presentation. The present study sought to determine if the anterior chamber were simultaneously confronted with these two categories of antigens, which systemic immune response would prevail: DTH or suppression of DTH? The results show that inoculation of minor histocompatibility alloantigens and TSTA into the anterior chamber induced both afferent and efferent suppression of specific anti-alloantigen DTH responses, yet simultaneously induced normal anti-TSTA DTH responses. Both responses (i.e. DTH and suppression) were transferable with lymphoid cells.