Immunity to soluble retinal antigen in patients with uveitis accompanying juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Studies of immunity to bovine soluble retinal antigen (antigen S) were carried out using serum and peripheral blood lymphocytes from children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and chronic anterior uveitis (JRA‐uveitis), children with JRA alone, children with nonrheumatic diseases, and controls who had no ocular or rheumatic disease. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and the lymphocyte transformation assay were used to determine immunity. Antibody to antigen S was present significantly more frequently in children with JRA‐uveitis than in children with JRA alone, children with nonrheumatic disorders, or controls. These latter groups did not differ in positivity for this antibody. Lymphocyte transformation occurred more frequently in children with JRA–uveitis than in children with JRA alone or controls. Children with JRA alone and controls had similar frequencies of lymphocyte transformation positivity. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay positivity and lymphocyte transformation positivity tended to occur in different children. Children with JRA–uveitis who had HLA–B35 had the highest frequency of antibody to antigen S. Immunity to antigen S may be the result of ocular damage by mechanisms other than a pathogenic mechanism per se.

Managing juvenile idiopathic arthritis–associated uveitis

“…37 However, Petty et al found that an antibody to S-antigen in serum was present significantly more frequently in children with JIA-associated uveitis than in children with JIA alone, other rheumatology disorders or healthy controls, and the cellular response in peripheral blood lymphocytes, measured by lymphocyte transformation, was also more frequent in those patients with JIA-associated uveitis. 38 Murray et al found serum antibodies to the DEK protein to be characteristic of oligoarticular JIA, 39 however Dong et al found anti-DEK autoantibodies related to autoimmune conditions in general rather than specifically to JIA. 40 Walscheid et al described how antiocular serum antibodies to ocular cryosections from swine eyes were detected more frequently in JIA-associated uveitis than in control groups, correlating with a complicated uveitis course but not with uveitis activity or antiinflammatory treatment.…”

Immunity to Ocular and Collagen Antigens in Childhood Arthritis and Uveitis

“…Lymphocyte proliferative responses to ocular antigens were tested using a standard assay [4]. All test antigens were prepared in PBS and sterilized by passage through a 0.22-pm low-protein-binding Millipore filter.…”

“…Bovine retinal S antigen was prepared using established meth ods [4] followed by further purification by high-performance liquid chromatography (Waters). S antigen was eluted from a Protein Pak DEAE-5PW anion exchange column using a 30-min simultaneous linear pH (8.5-7) and salt (0-0.5 M) gradient made up in 0.02 M Tris-HCl and run at 1 ml/min.…”

“…Animal models of experimental uveitis have employed a variety of agents, including soluble retinal antigen (S antigen) [2] and lens crystallins [3]. Studies in this laboratory [4] and others [5] have demonstrated humoral and cellmediated immunity to bovine S antigen in some children with JRA and uveitis. Studies of immunoreactivity to lens crystallins in children with JRA have not been reported.…”

Iris Protein Antibodies in Serum of Patients with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and Uveitis

“…observations] colla gen types I, II, III or IV, proteins present within the eye and the joint. With respect to ocular antigens, however, antibodies that react with S antigen [2,4] and lens |1H-crystallin, but not to a, (IL-or y, t-crystallins [2], are associ ated with uveitis in children with JRA. Immunofluores cence studies have demonstrated that sera from children with JRA and active uveitis contained antibodies which reacted with human iris tissue [5].…”