Uveitis in horses induced by interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein is similar to the spontaneous disease.
Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is an inflammatory eye disease with high similarity to uveitis in man. It is the only spontaneous animal model for uveitis and the most frequent eye disease in horses affecting up to 10% of the population. To further investigate the pathophysiology of ERU we now report the establishment of an inducible uveitis model in horses. An ERU-like disease was elicited in seven out of seven horses by injection of interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (IRBP) in complete Freund's adjuvant. Control horses did not develop uveitis. The disease model is characterized by a highly reproducible disease course and recurrent episodes with an identical time course elicited in all horses by repeated IRBP injections. The histology revealed the formation of lymphoid follicle-like structures in the eyes and an intraocular infiltration dominated by CD3(+) lymphocytes, morphological patterns typical for the spontaneous disease. Antigen-specific T cell proliferation of PBL was monitored prior to clinical uveitis and during disease episodes. An initial T cell response to IRBP-derived peptides was followed by epitope spreading to S-antigen-derived peptides in response to subsequent immunizations. Thus, horse experimental uveitis represents a valuable disease model for comparative studies with the spontaneous disease and the investigation of immunomodulatory therapeutic approaches after onset of the disease.
Institute for Animal Physiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany. deeg@tiph.vetmed.uni-muenchen.de
Cornelia A
CA
Deeg
Stephan R
SR
Thurau
Hartmut
H
Gerhards
Marion
M
Ehrenhofer
Gerhild
G
Wildner
Bernd
B
Kaspers
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology* / Q000633:toxicity; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000032:analysis; D002417:Cattle; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005136:Eye Proteins; D005620:Freund's Adjuvant; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology / Q000633:toxicity; D037342:Pertussis Toxin / Q000276:immunology; D012008:Recurrence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012177:Retinol-Binding Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology* / Q000633:toxicity; D013045:Species Specificity; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D014605:Uveitis / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D000099214:Retinol-Binding Proteins, Interstitial
D001324:Autoantigens; D017252:CD3 Complex; D005136:Eye Proteins; D005620:Freund's Adjuvant; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D037342:Pertussis Toxin; D012177:Retinol-Binding Proteins; D000099214:Retinol-Binding Proteins, Interstitial