1. Spontaneous development of autoimmune uveoretinitis in nude mice following reconstitution with embryonic rat thymus.
- Author
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Ichikawat, T., Taguchi, O., Takahashi, T., Ikeda, H., Takeuchi, M., Tanaka, T., Usui, M., and Nishizuka, Y.
- Subjects
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ENDOCRINE glands , *IMMUNOGLOBULINS , *LYMPHOCYTES , *T cells , *IMMUNOCYTOCHEMISTRY , *PHOTOBIOLOGY , *RETINOIDS - Abstract
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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 1991