The roles of non-T-cells in infectious uveitis

抄録

Immune responses against uveitis are broadly divided into innate immune response and adaptive immune response. The group of inflammatory cells that induce innate immunity against uveitis comprises the “non-lymphocytes” such as neutrophils, macrophages and dendritic cells. Among the uveitis in which innate immunity plays a central role, infectious uveitis is the most important. Particularly in endophthalmitis and acute retinal necrosis that have poor visual prognosis, delay in diagnosis directly impacts visual function; therefore early diagnosis and treatment are important to obtain good visual outcome. Neutrophils are the inflammatory cells involved in the earliest pathology of infectious uveitis, causing ocular tissue damage which may result in irreversible visual function impairment. In representative infectious uveitis such as endogenous bacterial or fungal endophthalmitis, a characteristic cytokine profile has been identified; apart from cytokines promoting neutrophil migration, production and activation, other cytokines that enhance neuropathy and intraocular proliferation have also been detected. Although Behçet's disease has been considered to be a uveitis involving adaptive immunity, since the hypopyon observed in this disease is composed of neutrophils, inflammatory cells of the innate immune system are also involved in its pathology. However, considering also the fact that T cell infiltration features prominently in retinal vasculitis of Behçet's disease, innate immunity and adaptive immunity do not act individually, but function simultaneously and form an innate immunity-adaptive immune cycle, contributing to the persistence and chronicity of uveitis.