title: HLA-B27, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and the relation to acute anterior uveitis.
abstract: Acute anterior uveitis (AAU) is a disease of unknown etiology, although it is frequently associated with various autoimmune diseases. It has recently been shown in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a disease often associated with AAU, that antiserum raised against a particular isolate of Klebsiella pneumoniae would cross-react with lymphocytes possessing HLA-B27. The present study was performed to evaluate the response of lymphocytes of patients to K. pneumoniae and to determine the correlation with HLA-B27. The circulating immune complex levels in the serum of the patients were also determined for correlation with the presence of HLA-B27 antigen. We were able to demonstrate this cross-reactivity in the samples of AAU patients; however, we did find an increased immune complex level that was independent of HLA-B27 antigen. From our results, we conclude that although AAU is clinically associated with AS, the role of K. pneumoniae in these disease states remains unclear.
mesh_terms: D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex / Q000032:analysis; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D014605:Uveitis / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D006680:HLA Antigens