Spontaneous development of autoimmune uveoretinitis in nude mice following reconstitution with embryonic rat thymus.
This paper describes the spontaneous occurrence of an autoimmune uveoretinitis in nude (nu/nu) mice reconstituted when 4 weeks old by the grafting of rat embryonic thymus. The uveoretinitis was characterized histologically by progressive loss of the photoreceptor layer, observed in 4.0, 17.6, 42.9% and 71.4% of such mice at 3, 5, 7 and 12 months of age, respectively. Mice with uveoretinitis were shown to have serum IgG antibody reactive by indirect immunofluorescence with retinal photoreceptors, and with interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP), but not retinal S-antigen, by immunoblotting and ELISA. A uveoretinitis could be adoptively transferred to syngeneic ungrafted nude mice by splenic CD4+ T cells from diseased animals. This is the first experimental model of a (T cell mediated) autoimmune uveoretinitis which develops spontaneously and which is not dependent upon deliberate sensitization with retinal antigens and adjuvants.
Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute, Nagoya, Japan.
T
T
Ichikawa
O
O
Taguchi
T
T
Takahashi
H
H
Ikeda
M
M
Takeuchi
T
T
Tanaka
M
M
Usui
Y
Y
Nishizuka
D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude / Q000276:immunology; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344 / Q000276:immunology; D012160:Retina / Q000276:immunology; D012173:Retinitis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology* / Q000637:transplantation; D014605:Uveitis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology