title: The Role of IFN-alpha in Experimental and Clinical Uveitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  IFN-α is the only treatment capable of inducing long-term remission in some patients with ocular Behçet's disease. In this review, we focus on immune mechanisms of IFN-α in animal models and patients and compare the outcome of different clinical studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Review of literature using PubMed and Google and original data from rat models with monophasic/chronic or relapsing experimental autoimmune uveitis treated with IFN-α.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The role of IFN-α and its effect on various cell types were investigated, in some cases with contradictory results. Some patients respond very well to IFN-α treatment, while others are non-responders, which was reflected in the uveitis rat models: relapsing uveitis was ameliorated, the monophasic/chronic disease even aggravated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite intensive investigations in patients and animal models, the immune mechanisms explaining the therapeutic effect of IFN-α in ocular Behçet's disease are not yet fully understood and need further investigation.
authors.affiliation: a Section of Immunobiology, Department of Ophthalmology , Klinikum der Universität München , Munich , Germany.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: a Section of Immunobiology, Department of Ophthalmology , Klinikum der Universität München , Munich , Germany.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Diedrichs-Möhring
authors.affiliation: a Section of Immunobiology, Department of Ophthalmology , Klinikum der Universität München , Munich , Germany.
authors.forename: Gerhild
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wildner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012074:Remission Induction / Q000379:methods*; D014605:Uveitis / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D007155:Immunologic Factors; D016898:Interferon-alpha
keywords: NK cells; Th1; Th17; rat experimental autoimmune uveitis; regulatory T cells