An investigation of the general immune status and specific immune responsiveness to retinal-(S)-antigen in patients with chronic posterior uveitis.

Immunological abnormalities in endogenous posterior uveitis are widely reported but difficult to verify. We have therefore studied several immunological parameters in 14 patients with chronic posterior uveitis and compared the results with 14 healthy controls. Both the general immune status and the specific immune responsiveness to retinal S-antigen have been investigated. Results for the patient group as a whole were not significantly different from the control group. However the patients with severe eye disease (n = 4) had a reduced proliferative response to streptokinase-streptodornase antigen and two further individuals showed a general deficiency in functional cell mediated immunity. Circulating T-helper cells were marginally but not significantly reduced in patients. Responsiveness to bovine retinal S-antigen varied to a similar degree in both the patient and control groups. These findings indicate that, although severe uveitis may be associated with functional defects in cellular immunity in certain cases, in general the measurement of immune responsiveness of peripheral blood lymphocytes is unlikely to aid in the diagnosis or management of chronic posterior uveitis.